Nurarihyon No Mago: Short stories
by YellowWomanontheBrink
Summary: This is a series of fanfictions I had all in one. They mostly feature Day Rikuo, There may be OOC but no original characters. Read! Complete!
1. Chapter 1

Fanfic: Nurarihyon no mago

Hey! YellowWoman here!

Ok, so I've had a ton of fanfics just floating around my head and just a ton of what ifs, so I've decided to attempt to write this down. This is for me, so feel free not to review, or if you enjoy it, great! I would appreciate your opinion, whether you agree with me or not, or if my typing is horrible, or mistakes in the storyline and/or character's names. (I'm horrible at spelling them.)

Basically, this will be organized like this:

1. When I get an idea, I write it down and post it up, it might be a series of chapters for a series of stories with little drabbles in between. They will be titled with what chapters they will have been continued from. I don't like having a ton of little files up, so I'll have one huge one because I've got a lot of fanfics for a lot of different things. This one is for Nurarihyon No Mago ( That title is way too long for my tastes.)

Warnings: There may be OOC

Just some ideas that came to my head. And so… BEGIN!

Disclaimer: I do not own Nurarihyon No Mago, because if I did, I wouldn't be sitting here at a computer typing a fanfiction, would I?

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><p><strong>#1<strong>

**Title: To Entertain Himself**

**Features: Rikuo, age 3**

Rikuo was bored, wandering around the house, thinking up ways to test himself and his skills at managing to get everyone else in the house. He could here Tsurara talking loudly in the back of his mind as he attempted to climb the trees around the garden, hoisting himself up, unsuccessfully trying to reach the first branch.

"No Rikuo-sama! I've told you not to climb that tree. Suppose you fall down and hurt yourself? How am I…"

Tsurara' voice trailed off as he stopped listening and stood , rocking back on his heels and looking at her face move as she ranted on and on.

"Tsurara?" he interrupted.

The yuki-onna stopped talking and looked at the little boy.

"Yes, Rikuo-sama?"

"Do you know when otou-san will be done talking to all those yokai?"

His father had disappeared into the room to talk with the leaders in the clan. Rikuo was impatient; the only one that actually listened to Rikuo and didn't talk down to him was his father, everyone else who was nice came and went.

Tsurara frowned. "He should be out soon. Just wait for a little while, okay?"

Rikuo didn't want to wait. " Thank you, Tsurara-san!" He raced out of her sight back into the manor before she could say something else.

Now creeping silently next to the door, Rikuo dug into the pocket of his _ to make sure the surprise that he brought from the market was still there. It still was. He had seen it, and decided it was way too pretty to leave behind, so he had begged Kubinashi to buy it for him. He would show it to his father, but he had not had a chance to see him yet.

Placing his ear against the thin door, he waited until a lull in the conversation, and came in quietly, and ran to sit in his father's lap.

"Hi otou-san," he mumbled, burying his face in his father's chest. He could feel hands on his back, holding him more securely. Rikuo could feel all the yokai's eyes on his back, and suddenly lost the courage to ask his father about the gift in his pocket. He mumbled something unintelligible as he dug his face in farther.

"Hi Rikuo," Rihan said, a small smile crawling across his face at his son's sudden appearance— and interruption.

"Why is he in here?" Hitotsume said abruptly. "Send him out. _ Now."_ Rihan looked at the one-eyed yokai and sighed.

"Rikuo, why don't you go out now? We're almost done now, okay?"

Rikuo turned his face up and put on an irresistibly adorable puppy face. "But I don't want to. Can I stay? _Please?_" His large brown eyes were focused intently on Rihan.

"He has to go," Hitotsume grumbled.

Rikuo faced the group of yokai. "_Please?" _ he begged, his eyes widening.

Everyone melted at his face. Murmurs of agreement echoed softly through the crowd and small smiles formed on a lot of the member's lips. Rikuo smiled brightly.

"Arigato!"

He settled comfortably on his father's lap and watched the yokai in front of him. He was skimming his eyes over each and everyone and seeing if he could take them down, because Aotabo had proven himself very easy to trick. His eyes settled on the one who had first spoken against him and grinned he noticed him staring. Rikuo had decide to take his revenge. All that mattered was how.

Eventually they all stopped talking and left the room. Rihan put Rikuo down and kneeled so he could look eye-to-eye.

"Listen Rikuo, when I come here I have to do very important things okay? Next time, don't interrupt."

Rikuo nodded seriously. He took note of his father's words and decided he would go _with _Rihan to the meetings.

He also decided to figure out a way to trap Hitotsume.

* * *

><p>Later the next day, Rikuo approached the small patio outside the house leading to the garden. He stomped softly to check if it was hollow, and to his delight, it was. He grinned. Scampering off the patio, he stuck his head down and pulled at the boards that covered the hollow bottom. Beneath it was soft, wet earth.<p>

_Perefct…_ he thought.

He ran back into the house, dirt streaming from his soiled clothes and leaving a trail throughout the manor. He ran into Aotabo, who was just who he was looking for.

"Aotabo-san," he said, rocking back and forth on his heels, "can you please dig a hole for me?"

The yokai looked down at him suspiciously, and hoping not to end up deep in the hole he would dig.

"Why do you need me to dig a hole?"

Rikuo made a pleading expression.

"Because I really need a hole dug here."

Aotabo frowned, thinking of all the ways the demonic little boy could manage to get him stuck in a hole deeper than he'd originally dug, _again. _"No," he said firmly.

Rikuo begged. "Please Aotabo-san? Please, please, please _please? _ I won't let you fall in it." He looked up, innocent face begging with a pleading look in his massive brown eyes.

"Please?"

The final please did it for him and Aotabo took the shovel from Rikuo's hand and proceeded to dig beneath the foundation, getting himself coated in a thick layer of dirt.

"I'm not digging anymore," he growled.

"Oh no, you dug much too deep anyway. Arigato, Aotabo-san!" the little boy leaned up toward the muscled yokai, and he leaned his ear down."And I suggest that you change your yukata before you run into Kejouro-san or okaa-san. They yelled at me because mine was dirty before." Rikuo smiled brightly and ran off into the house, feet thumping on the now-hollow patio. Aotabo had a sour look on his face before he went in, much quieter than he usually would.

* * *

><p>A few days later, his plan and ideas neatly layed out in his mind, Rikuo was flipping out the loose floorboard in his room to his massive expanse of rope, coiled up neatly and tightly. He pulled out the strongest and thickest rope he could find and rushed back outside to set up his net of complicated knots. Pausing by his mother's room, he stopped and dashed in and out, now carrying a thick silk obi (A kimono sash) in his already much-filled little arms. Hearing footsteps walking down the hall, he leaned quickly back into the shadows, and watched as Tsurara stormed past, probably looking for him. But she didn't see him. Rikuo was not easily found if he didn't want to be, which was not quite often anyway.<p>

Now rushing, he disappeared down into the now clean out hole beneath the patio that he had neatened out himself using very small spades ( the only ones he could use efficiently), he pushed the ropes into the ground firmly with stakes he had been gathering for a while, in complicated patterns and pre-set knots. He also went out and grabbed a bucket, stood on it and tied some more delicate- looking strings onto the pushed up boards, which had been previously loosened by his hands.

Everything meticulously organized, Rikuo stood back and looked at his handiwork. Loops of thick and thin ropes overlapped, ready to be tightened by a single pullstring set up above the patio, within his reach. The thick obi lay cut into two equal strips on top of the bucket he had just stood on, waiting for later use.

_Maybe Hitotsume might be more fun than I originally hoped,_ Rikuo thought, quite proud of his trap, which had taken him twenty minutes to set up. He couldn't let Tsurara-san get antsy or she might call for his mother, and she was very hard to woo over.

_Now all I have to do is wait, _ he thought gleefully.

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><p>Rikuo sat on his father's lap quite comfortably as he once again watched the older head yokai talk. It had been several weeks since he first set up the ropes waiting for Hitotsume underneath the patio in the garden. Eventually he felt Rihan shift and call the meeting to a close, and Rikuo jumped off his father's lap and rushed out the door. Everyone watched the light door close behind the boy. The group departed after him. No one noticed small Rikuo crouched in the corner around the door, lying in wait. Hitotsume was one of the last to leave. When the one-eyed yokai left the hallway, Rikuo energetically followed him.<p>

"Hitotsume-san! Hitotsume-san! Wait!" Hitotsume stoutly ignored the boy peppering his heels.

When the pair turned onto an empty hallway, Rikuo made his move. He grabbed Hitotsume's hand and dragged him down an opposite hallway into a path that would have made it necessary for the yokai to pass the garden to get to the front of the house. At that moment, Rikuo ducked back into the shadows that hid him and his black yukata well, running ahead of the grumbling yokai.

Finally, Rikuo commenced his final stage of plan: he turned the board of the patio slightly off so that the thin strings underneath would be stressed and pull the rest of the down, leaving the frame slightly bared. He climbed the doorway to be laying directly over Hitotsume's head when he passed through. He gripped his small fingers tensely over the pull string that would tighten the contraption blow.

It all went directly as planned.

Before Hitotsume could yell, he was bound straight and tight by thick ropes pulled so tight it would crush an ordinary human. Layers and layers of tangled rope encircled his body, binding his feet together, and his arms to his sides, crushing his fingers. He strained and could feel thin wire cutting him. Just as he was about to cry out for help, the light was suddenly cut off from above and a small beam of moonlight entered and disappeared as someone entered the chamber, which smelled strongly of wet earth. He opened his eyes to catch a glimpse of a round face only to have it blocked out by something covering his eye and then a gag entered and tied around the back of head through his mouth. Wriggling, he could tell he was suspended, and there was abut two feet between him and the ground. He could hear a voice outside of where ever he was trapped; whatever yokai that had been clever enough to capture him with rope had left.

* * *

><p>Rikuo crawled out of the hole, quite proud of himself for his achievements. But he was quickly stopped by Tsurara; she had chastised him loudly about playing so roughly and getting his clothes dirty.<p>

"Let's go, Rikuo-sama, you need to take a bath and clean yourself and then your dinner will be ready, okay?" the yuuki-onna said, completely caught up in her lecture and the thought of making dinner that she didn't notice that Rikuo was trying to talk about his latest trap, and who it had been on. Rikuo gave up and agreed. He did want to eat, he was quite hungry.

After 40 minutes of assuring Tsurara and his mother, that _yes, he was clean,_ and _no, he wouldn't play in dirt anymore_, he finally got to sit down in the kitchen and eat. By te time he was done eating he was sleepy and full and didn't even try and beg to stay up with all the yokai; he just passed out the moment he entered his room.

Unfortunately, he had completely forgotten to tell anyone (not that they would listen) about Hitotsume underneath the patio.

In fact, he forgot for several days; it had completely left the two-year old's mind. The ambition to trap Hitotsume was dead and done a long time ago to him. He did notice something amiss, though, when he couldn't find his coils of rope, and that was when it occurred to him he had completely forgotten Hitotsume and needed someone to get him out.

Mean while, a small panic was going throughout the older people of the Nura clan. They feared Hitotsume was dead as weeks passed on and no one heard a word from him.

_Who would be powerful enough to take—or worse, kill Hitotsume?_

Rikuo was aware of the unease spreading throughout the clan, but no one would ever take the time and listen to him, or answer any of his questions.

Finally, for a total time of two weeks, Rihan stopped and asked Rikuo:

"Rikuo, have you seen Hitotsume-san? He has been missing since he left the meeting rom two weeks ago, and you were the first to leave. Did you see anyone suspicious."

"Nope, Otou-san," he answered truthfully.

Rihan sighed and stood up, a brooding expression on his face.

"But can I _please_ show you something? I've been trying to show everyone but they keep ignoring me," Rikuo said, an exasperated tone in his young voice.

Rihan smiled down at his son. "What is it?"

Rikuo grinned back. "My new trap."

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><p>Rihan almost laughed out loud when he saw the old yokai bound and trussed up like a pig. By a two year old, nonetheless. The entire main house was crowded around the dug up patio, and most were biting their lips. Rikuo was beaming proudly.<p>

"See Tou-san? I kept trying to show you guys but no one was listening, and then I kind of forgot, but then I remembered and tried to tell you, but you ignored me _again…."_

The entire crowd was ignoring Rikuo and Wakana was down in the pit trying to untangle the enormous mess of strangely organized and tightly tied rope.

"Rikuo!" she called, "Get down here and untangle this mess!"

He slid down in to pit, walked over into the corner, and pulled on a small piece of string and everyone watched in awe as the web slowly untangled itself until all that was left was a gagged Hitotsume with a few minor cuts sitting in a mountain of curled rope, string and (now visible) twine.

"Geez, all you had to do was pull this string."

Wakana once again was not listening as she untied the gags and looked down at what she was holding.

"Is this my obi?"

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><p>Rikuo was now sitting in his grandfather's room, with his head down. Rihan kneeled in the back of him. And Hitotsume was still cursing under his breath. Rikuo picked u his head with large glittery brown eyes and a thick veil of shame across his features. Rihan looked sternly down at his son and asked Rikuo,<p>

"What do you say to Hitotsume-san, Rikuo?"

Rikuo looked absolutely pathetic as he looked into Hitotsume's eyes and said in a small voice ,"I'm sorry, Hitotsume, for tying you up and forgetting you there." He looked down again and let shame roll off him in waves. He threw on his most innocent look and looked at his father regretfully.

Rihan caved in to the _face_. "Okay, you're dismissed."

"Yes, Otou-san," Rikuo said, walking softly and closing the door gently behind him. He quickly dropped his façade and leaned close to the door, listening silently to the adults.

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><p>Hitotsume snorted after the boy left. He really wasn't angry anymore (the <em>face<em> had done its job well), but he was embarrassed enough as it was without having to add the little boy's victory in staying out of trouble to the agenda.

"That's all you'll do to the boy, Rihan? You're spoiling him."

Rihan grinned and leaned back. "Nah, I'm not too worried, he meant it didn't he? So he won't do it again."

The Nurarihyon entered the room, squinting at the door suspiciously before closing it firmly.

"I think Rikuo is a better actor than I am," Rihan thought aloud. "He was much too proud of himself to ever have been _that _guilty."

Nurarihyon just snorted as he settled in the windowed corner of the room.

Now Hitotsume felt extremely stupid, he had been abut ready to admit maybe the boy did mean it, not that he would forgive him. He quickly excused himself and left the room, leaving Rihan and his father alone in the room.

Eventually Rihan also left.

Rikuo was in the back of the house kicking his feet in the small pond. He felt his father sneak up behind him and wrap his arms around his small shoulders.

"That was very bad of you Rikuo," Rihan mumbled "next time, you shouldn't forget about them if you are going to lay a trap." Rikuo smiled gently up at his father and leaned into him.

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><p><strong>So, what do you think of my first fanfic? It has a pretty crappy ending, and I know I don't exactly keep anyone in character. This was <strong>_**horrible! **_***sobbing* I kind of regret posting this up now…**

**Review! I would appreciate anything, comments on my writing, spelling, storyline, ideas, INSPIRATION! Just leave a comment, even if you didn't like it.**

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><p><strong>#2<strong>

**Title: To Become Stronger**

**Features: Rikuo, age 17 (Day Form) & Kana, age 17**

Note to reader from YellowWoman: I don't like the idea of the whole double personality, kinda weirds me out, so in all my fanfics Rikuo is just one personality, none of all that switching and stuff. And so… BEGIN!

Rikuo was at the market, wandering, when a familiar voice rang out through the crowds of people shopping.

"Rikuo!"

He turned around to find a girl bustling past people in the market to get to him.

"Rikuooo!"

She tripped near him and he hastily caught her.

"Wow," she said breathlessly, "I haven't seen you in _forever_. You haven't called or kept in touch with _anyone."_

Rikuo saw some familiarity in the girl's features. Someone he knew very well.

"Kana?"

She smiled. "Duh! How come you never called or anything since we began high school? And you never answered the door either at your house."

Rikuo was still speechless at the sight of his childhood friend, whom he hadn't spoken to in nearly five years.

"Kana-chan… wow… how nice to see you…"

As far as he knew, she was living at the school she went to and only came home for holidays. That was how he had managed to avoid her after taking up his position in the clan.

"Look at how tall you got! You never were really tall…your face still pretty much looks the same…"

She went on. Rikuo listened politely.

"Kana-chan, why don't we get something to eatand then we can properly catch up."

She smiled at him. "That sounds perfect. And I know just the place. Let's meet up again tomorrow, all right? Two o'clock for lunch! Meet me right outside the vegetable stall."

A voice in the jumble of voices called loudly, "Kana-chan! Kana-chan! Where the hell are you!"

She smiled wryly. I guess I have to go. It was awesome seeing you again, Rikuo. Tomorrow at two o'clock. And I expect a full explanation for you r silence, and it better be good!" She disappeared in to the huddle of people.

Rikuo grinned and turned his face up at the afternoon sun.

_To think I'd see Kana,_ he thought,_ well, I suppose I could have expected it. It is the summer, and I guess she's not vacationing this year._

When Rikuo got home, he was met by Tsurara as he entered the kitchen. He intended to tell her so she wouldn't worry about him.

"Back so soon Rikuo-sama?" she asked, flipping pages in a book absentmindedly.

"Mmm," he replied, just as distracted. "Tsurara-chan, I'm going to be busy tomorrow afternoon."

She looked up. "Where are you going?"

He shrugged. "Nowhere.," he said on his way out.

For some reason, he really didn't want to tell anyone what he was doing.

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><p>The next afternoon, he was waiting outside the stall with his normal friendly expression and a small sliver of happy inside his heart. He was wearing his normal loose-fitting jacket, t-shirt and jeans that he normally wore when he went out.<p>

Kana showed up around the same time.

"Come on, let's go to my apartment. I live by myself now so I'm closer to the school. We'll catch up, and you'll explain yourself to me." She looked up at him.

They walked to the station and got on the train to Kana's apartment complex, and when they arrived Kana practically dragged Rikuo into her apartment.

_When she said 'lunch' I had no idea that she meant this!_ He actually had never been inside Her house, alone. With no one there.

Luckily for him, there was someone else inside there. She had wildly crimped blue hair and a nose stud.

"Hey Kana. Who's this hottie? "

Rikuo held out his hand. "Nura Rikuo. Pleased to meet you."

She looked at him, gray eyes looking up and down critically.

"If this is your new boyfriend he better not be living here again. I'm not putting up with another bum on the couch."

Kana turned red. "Sayori-chan!" He's not my boyfriend! He's a friend I knew for a long time, and we're catching up again is all."

"Yeah, yeah,' the neon- headed girl called Sayori mumbled.

Sighing exasperatedly, Kana turned on her heel and disapeard into the kitchen.

"You wait right there Rikuo-kun, I'll get the lunch and we can go. There's this lovely park I want to go to."

Rikuo waited.

"So you're Rikuo, right? I've heard about you before. Kana told me. How you were insanely nice and polite and really weird."

Rikuo frowned. "She called me weird?"

Sayori smiled. "Yep."

"All right, let's go." Kana marched in purposefully and left , Rikuo trailing behind, and looking back.

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><p>They were sitting in a wide flowered tree, petals getting in their drinks that they drank anyway, making small talk, or rather, Rikuo answering Kana's endless questions the best he could.<p>

"What high school did you go to?" she asked.

"I didn't go to high school, there were problems at home that needed to be taken care of."

Rather, he had failed the first time after the Nue rose, and had been severely wounded. Hehad been able to kill and finally kill the demon on his third try. It had taken nearly a year and a half, and he had decided not to attend human school anymore after that.

"How come you didn't call? Or keep in touch? With any of us?"

"I don't have an answer for that." He really had been so preoccupied with the chaos that had ensued in Kyoto , and the people of the cross squad were already pretty suspicious of him, so he just cut off all ties with anyone in the human world. He did not want to get them involved.

Kana sighed. "Let's just go home, we've been out for nearly an two hours already."

Rikuo jumped out of the tree and landed neatly on his feet. Kana followed suit and laded hard.

"Aughh…" She clutched her ankle, which was blue and rapidly swelling.

"Kana-chan! What were you thinking?" Rikuo hefted her up, bridal-style. "You'll have to point me back to you're apartment. I'm not quite sure where it is."

"Don't forget our stuff." Kana pointed shyly up at the tree.

Rikuo adjusted her so that her thighs was cradled in his arms and her arms around his neck and one hand carrying the basket. And so they began the walk home in the bright summer sun.

* * *

><p>Kana had been surprised to find hard muscle when Rikuo picked her up. He was so thin-looking, but in truth, he seemed really fit. He was now carrying her and they were halfway there and he wasn't even breathing hard. It was almost effortless for him. She leaned her head on his shoulder and looked down his shirt at his back, and was shocked to find pale gray tattoos. Hundreds of them, like they were lying under his skin the entire time. It was unnatural, and Rikuo with tattoos was a little unimaginable. They emanated a faint feeling that made her shiver lightly. Running her fingers over his back, she could feel Rikuo tense.<p>

"Turn here into the alley. It's faster."

He turned and walked the way she told him to.

"Rikuo?"

"Hmm?"

"When the hell did you get a tattoo?"

She twisted a little to get a better look down his back. She saw a strap farther down.

"I started getting them when I was thirteen."

He didn't tell her how.

Suddenly he stopped. Kana felt something run coldly down her back, which was odd, because the sun was beating down hard. Rikuo put her down slowly and stuck his hand in the back of his shirt.

"Rikuo-kun, what's wrong?" She reached into her pocket and pulled out the small taser gun from her pocket she had carried since she had last been mugged.

Rikuo ignored her. "Come out. I know you are there." He said, sliding something out from behind.

Suddenly, the coldness grew stronger and enveloped the sunny alley. A …_thing—_ that was all Kana could say to describe it— slid out from all over in the shadows. Kana was sitting awkwardly in the center of the alley.

"Rikuo!" she screamed as hundreds of slimy cold tentacles slid out and grabbed her. A face extended on one of the slimy extremities leaned close and said "Aren't you a pretty thing?" Before it was quickly sliced away by a katana— wielded by Rikuo expertly, and he stood in front of her furiously defending.

Kana noticed a slightly thicker tentacle sliding up underneath him and snaking around his ankle and without his knowing, it tightened.

"Ri—"

Too late.

He was picked up and violently thrown impossibly hard into a wall, blood running down most of his head and unconscious, katana still clutched tightly. He was half buried in rubble.

Kana pulled out her second weapon, the one she never used. She pulled out her automatic gun and fired insanely at the yokai until she could hear it click with emptiness. By then she cluched her cell phone to her ear, police on the line, screaming help.

Sqelcccccchhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Kana looked down to find a single tentacle embedded deep in her chest and out her back.

By the time she hit the ground she was already dead.

* * *

><p>Rikuo awoke in a dark room that smelled like chlorine. Machines beeped around him. He was in his Night Form.<p>

_Where am I?_ _Kana! Where's Kana…_

He dully remembered the yokai that had attacked them… in broad daylight. If Kana lived, she would have done the most sensible thing… she would have called the police…

_Shit!_

He was in a human hospital. He quickly changed uncomfortably to his day form and sat up, pulling off the wire monitors, which had started beeping loudly.

"He's awake! " he heard in the distance.

Rikuo's head swam and he collapsed back on the bed, breathing hard.

A pretty face appeared over him.

"Are you okay sir?"

He ignored her question. "Kana."

She looked confused. "Excuse me?"

He looked her straight in the eye. "Ienaga Kana. Where is she? She was with me… in the alley… oh shit…"

"I'm so sorry… I'll need your name."

"I have to get out of here."

Once again, he stood, dizzy, but this time he landed hard on the floor, and blacked out again.

* * *

><p>Rikuo was at the funeral two weeks later, eyes wide and furious. He could feel Tsurara's cold hands on his arm. She was crying silently. Up ahead, he could hear Kana's mother wailing loudly as Kana's coffin was lowered next to her father's grave. He had died the year before. He held his black umbrella against the rain and refused to cry. This was his fault. He was too weak, and that was why Kana had died.<p>

He was clutching his umbrella hard, he could feel it cutting hard into his hands.

The police had told him that Kana's body had been pierced through and through ninety-eight times with what they assumed were bullets. Rikuo knew they were the tentacles of the yokai that had knocked him unconscious. The police also assumedit was the work of a serial killer that had been killing hundreds of young pretty girls of the same agenda as Kana.

That made Rikuo even angrier.

Finally the coffin was placed gently in to the ground and started to be covered with dirt.

"Rikuo-sama…"

He looked down at the small Tsurara clutching his arm.

"Are you okay?"

He looked ahead again, a scary expression on his face.

"I'm going to kill the yokai that did this to her."

The yuuki-onna looked up at him oddly. "Do we go tonight?"

"No," he replied, "I want to kill it in my day form. I _will _kill it in my day form. But perhaps I might visit it tonight. But I want you only to come with me, if you will."

Tsurara looked stunned at her master's sudden hardness.

"Yes. O-okay."

* * *

><p>At last, the only people left were Rikuo and Kana's mother. She refused to leave the grave, sobbing incessantly.<p>

"Ienaga-san."

The old woman quieted and murmured "Nura?"

He kneeled down and gently patted her back. "Your daughter will be avenged," he whispered, "Because I know who did it. And they will die by my hands."

She looked up at him, wide eyed. "Please." She said softly. "Thank you."

It was getting cooler as it became later in the night. Rikuo took off his coat in a comforting gesture.

"Come on. You can have dinner at my house tonight. It must be pretty lonely at your own."

"No thank you, Rikuo. I was going to live over with my sister in Osaka. I don't think I can stay here anymore."

"Okay, Ienaga-san. I'll come over and help you anyway."

She smiled small and walked slowly out of the graveyard with Rikuo.

And Rikuo's determination burned harder in his chest.

* * *

><p>Late at night, Night Rikuo stood high on a building with Tsurara standing behind him. He looked down on the destroyed wall where he'd been thrown. And the massive bloodstain that marked Kana's area of death. The whole area was roped off with yellow tape. He could sense the tendrils of fear curling off something huddled in the corner.<p>

"Thisssss issss mine." It hissed throatily, and it stepped into the moonlight. Rikuo could now see it was a girl. It was like she had no color, the sharpness of her whiteness stood out against the environment. Tentacles writhed around her body and the ground; they were barbed to a lethal point. She had no eyes, and sharp, widely-spaced teeth.

"Now, Tsurara," Rikuo murmured, eyes totally focused on the yokai below him.

The ground frosted over slowly, freezing the tentacles a soft blue and crawling onto the remarkably fast, freezing her quickly. Rikuo appeared before her and hissed wickedly into her ears, "Do you know who I am?" He said it low enough so that Tsurara couldn't hear him.

"An intruuuuder." She drawled. She paused. "This is miiiiiiine, I've had blooood spilled hereeeee."

"I am the human that you threw into that wall right there—" he pointed, " and I will be back," he hissed right into her ear. The yokai wanted to shake at the sheer menace that had been put into the voice that had her trapped in ice. She let herself see and saw pale skin, and crimson blood-red eyes put right in front of her, very close, breathing evenly.

Fear entered this yokai's heart and struck her closely. She was terrified, when he disappeared to the top of one of the buildings, and disappeared once again.

Breathing shakily. The yokai waited for the ice to melt so she could leave, escape rather, before the other yokai that had just appeared returned to kill her.

* * *

><p>When Rikuo returned home, the house was silent. They had waited for Rikuo, expecting him to arrive with blood on his blade and vengeance in his eyes. They just met a very, very angry Rikuo, who immediately disappeared to the back garden after grabbing a bottle of drink that was lying unopened on the kitchen counter. He stayed in the ever-blooming sakura tree all night, until morning, until his mother went nervously to check up on her son, who very suddenly dropped down on front of her in his Day Form.<p>

"Rikuo… I was going to ask you I you wanted breakfast."

"Thank you okaa-san," he said, distracted, "But can it wait for a second? There's something I need to do."

He walked very quickly into the house and disappeared into his room.

* * *

><p>Three weeks later, Rikuo emerged from his room with a sort of finality. He checked the time to see that it was around twelve o'clock.<p>

"Okay…." He breathed out and activated his fear and disappeared. He walked around the house, standing right behind just about anyone he could think of and anyone he ran across.

He snuck up behind Aotabo and flicked his head, causng him to yell out,slap his head, and throw his arms around to see who had flicked him. But Rikuo had already ducked out of the room

He flipped off Kurotabo"s hat, pulled off Kubinashi's scarf, and mussed up Kejouro's hair, and pulled off Mezumaru's mask. Tsurara nearly got him when he pulled the obi off her kimono. But no one could detect him at all.

He put himself to the final test and snuck soberly up on his grandfather. In his Night form, he had managed to sneak up perfectly on Nurarihyon after nearly fifteen years of trying.

Moving silently and quickly, he stood right behind his grandfather…. Who tensed slightly, turned around, and stared Rikuo straight in the eye suspiciously. He looked around and didn't seem to see anything, so he turned back around and continued smoking. Rikuo slapped Nurarihyon's bald odd- shaped head and ran the hell out of there when a loud "Oi!" sounded.

After about fourteen hours, when everyone was gathering for food and alcohol, Rikuo collapsed from sheer exhaustion.

"Ughhhhh, that's sad, thirteen hours, fifty-nine minutes, and 49 seconds."

And then he looked up to the peeved expressions of just about everyone in the main house.

He stood ungracefully.

"Ummmm, I've been practicing for these past couple of weeks my fear and the other stuff…"

Narrowed eyes.

"It's not as good as in my Night Form…"

Silence.

Rikuo grabbed a ton of food and disappeared to his sakura tree.

* * *

><p>Another four weeks later, Rikuo came up to Tsurara.<p>

"Tsurara-chan, can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, waka."

"Can you fight with me?"

Tsurara turned around to gawk at the teenager, who'd said it with such a pleasant expression and tone she'd been expected an entirely different question.

"Please? I want to test myself without hurting anyone. So can you practice with me?"

"O-okay Rikuo-sama."

_Perfect, _he thought.

* * *

><p><strong>And thus laziness takes over :D I get really lazy, plus my back is hurting from sitting here, so I'll finish this one when I get inspired to sit my lazy ass at the computer and type. If you're upset andor annoyed review! If you're not, Review! I'd really appreaciate it.**

**By the way, is Rikuo's grandfather's name Nurarihyon? I have no idea what to call him.**

**I killed Kana! XD**

**Sorry, I've been thinking up this one for awhile. I had NO idea it was going to be this frickin' loooooooong. I was thinking of having 20 stories in this fanfic, but I can see that's not happening : **

**What can you do?**

**Anyway, if you can give me a bit of tips on character's names and fears, that'd be really helpful, because I read the manga, and the person that uploaded all the chapters was a crappy scanlator and everything was super fuzzy, so I didn't catch some of the words, names, and/or didn't get the picture. *crying***

**So any assistance would be deeply appreciated.**

**YellowWomanontheBrink is currently:**

**Angry with herself for the crappy first story and the cut off second one. XO**

**Worried about School. *Sob***

**Thanks for Reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey! This is YellowWoman here. I'm sitting here this morning bored out of my mind and decided I might as well get a move on with the rest of my story, which was being delayed because my sister was typing. And school. And SCHOOL. So, here it is:**

**#3**

**Title: In Becoming Stronger**

**Features: Rikuo, age 17**

"Okay, Tsurara-chan, now would be a good time to start."

Rikuo and Tsurara had been circling each other for the past forty minutes. She was afraid of attacking and injuring her master in his Day form

"_Tsurara-chan." _She could hear exasperation creeping slowly into his voice. She leapt forward and waved her hand, commanding a flurry of ice and snow to go towards Rikuo, and he neatly dodged the white, freezing tornado.

"Come on! At least try. I know you can do much more than that."

"I-I don't want to hurt you."

He smiled, running around in a large arc around Tsurara to stand in the back of her.

"I'll be fine. Now put a little bit of effort in this. This is just sparring, remember that. This is supposed to test ourselves." He shifted his voice to a darker tone. "Now please try. It's insulting to think that you don't think that you need to try."

"Yes Rikuo-sama." Tsurara didn't really believe it would take much effort to defeat Her master's Day form; he had been beaten by a clanless yokai, after all. But she knew he was about to drop into _that_ tone. The scary one he used in the meetings, when almost no one had respected him and never listened to his polite requests. They listened now.

"Okay… now, no holding back. We have that well understood now right?"

"…Right."

Rikuo smiled pleasantly, his huge eyes reflected in the bright afternoon sunlight.

He ran at her at an angle from behind, ducking when she shot small sharp ice crystals. He had not even drawn his sword yet, it was tucked into his yukata, along with the two wakizashis hidden in the back of his clothing; one a spirit blade, the other a normal human one.

He dodged every attack she threw at him, he was ridiculously fast and very light on his feet. A small bit of her pride welled up inside her; her master was just a human at the moment, and she couldn't touch him! She was yokai, she was faster, stronger, much older, and she couldn't touch a (semi) human. She screamed in frustration and formed the ice spear she normally fought with in battle and raised heavy flurries of snow and sharp bits of ice, yellow eyes blazing like she had forgotten who she was fighting. One touch and she'd be left with no enemy and a frozen culprit. Solid.

She spun in a circle, and flung out her spear and felt it hit it's target.

"Hah!" she yelled triumphantly and rushed to shatter the ice of her sparring partner, until she remembered she had just froze her master fatally.

"Rikuoo-sama!" she wailed as she broke the ice carefully and dragged his cold body out from it.

"T-t-t-thanks Tsurara-chan. Can we go home for a bit ?"

He was completely blue.

"Of course! I'm so sorry Rikuo-sama, really sorry!"

He waved her off. "I'll be fine."

She hailed a cab because she didn't know how to summon the flying snake like yokai Rikuo usually used to get around when he had gone on yokai business. Right now, they were in an abandoned field on the east edge of Ukiyoe.

The taxicab driver didn't bat an eye at the shaking, shivering, perfectly blue Rikuo.

When they got to the house, Kejouro opened the gates and looked down at the now unconscious Rikuo.

"He lost, didn't he?" she asked nonchalantly.

Tsurara just nodded. It was not the first time Rikuo had been put to bed for weeks after a sparring match with a yokai, though Tsurara was a current loss.

Several of Tsurara's little assistant yokai scrambled over and took Rikuo from her hands to his room.

When Rikuo was conscious a couple hours later, Tsurara was surprised to find him up and perfectly okay, sitting up on his mattress.

"That was good Tsurara. Though I could tell you weren't trying that hard. Though I suppose if you did, I would be a little more than a bit cold."

"A bit cold? You had the worst case of hypothermia Zen said he had ever seen!"

Rikuo just smiled again. "Thank you, Tsurara."

The lack of an honorific made her blush slightly.

"I-i-i-I'll get you something to eat," she excused herself, not wanting to fall into any of his charming aspects again, like she had last week, where he had managed to get her two feet away from him and leaning into his body. She had enjoyed it _very_ much, but at that moment they had been interrupted.

She ran into Kejouro in the kitchen, reminiscing fondly of the moment of quiet they'd shared together.

"That boy is as bad as his father was," the older yokai commented offhandedly.

Tsurara just nodded, and began preparing a plate when she felt Rikuo's hand over her wrist.

"It's fine, I can eat here in the kitchen with the rest of you."

Kejouro looked over rikuo carefully, who was barefoot and perfectly fine, though a few hours ago he was gasping for breath and blue.

"How'd you get better so fast?"

He shrugged. "Something I discovered after the whole 'incident' in Kyoto."

He never did like talking about the Nue, and everyone had been out of it when the ultra powerful demon had been slain.

Rikuo had inherited Youhime's power of healing, he didn't use it often, as it only worked in his Day form since it was a completely human trait.

Kejouro shrugged and turned back to whatever she was doing.

Rikuo leaned in close and whispered discreetly in Tsurara's ear. His warm breath made it tingle pleasantly.

"Thank you for helping figure out my flaws."

He took his food and sat down to eat as if nothing had ever happened.

Tsurara held her spoon, a pale pink spreading across her cold face.

"Gozumaru!"

The yokai stoped and turned around to face the Soudaime, who stood a couple inches taller than him.

"I would appreciate it if you could let me test myself against you one more time. In my Day form."

"You've already lost to me so many times. I don't why you insist."

"because I get better every time, and I don't like losing. Especially if they are going to throw it back in my face every time I need something to happen, and most definitely if it's going to get someone killed."

Gozumaru was surprised. It was the first time Rikuo had even stood for mention of his dead friend. That was what everyone assumed he was doing everytime he challenged a yokai from the main house to a sparring match, and coming home getting himself beat up. Badly. It was pathetic everytime Gozumaru witnessed the young head dragged home incapacitated.

"No."

"Gozumaru."

That single word was enough to make Gozumaru want to do it. The teenager's babyface was shadowed from his hair, and he had a threatening tone in his voice that made the yokai shudder on the inside. Day Rikuo didn't punish. He tortured, embarrassed, and ruined the reputation's and mental health of his enemies. Death was nice compared to the things Rikuo cooked up in his head, and could carry out without anyone's assistance. Just another part of his human self.

Gozumaru sighed. "Fine."

A couple of days later, Gozumaru and Rikuo stood in the place where he had previously fought Tsurara. There was still an evil chill in the air, and whenever a breeze blew, it sent chills up his spine. He ignored this.

Rikuo was not smiling now, but had a serious look on his face, standing seemingly unarmed. It seemed no one but the women knew where he kept his weapons, and it seemed to appear whenever he needed them.

_I'll make sure he needs them,_ Gozumaru thought, not really intending on inflicting any serious damage.

"Okay, go!"

Rikuo dashed straight at the yokai, who immediately activated his 'fear. The enormous claw (thingy?) came from his back and blinded his vision, swarming the area in front of him where Rikuo had run. Gozumaru knew he would never defeat him in a frontal attack, or an attack from the back.

Except once the fear dissipated, no one was standing there.

He felt a blunt strike to his side, and he fell over and felt a bruise forming.

Gozumaru looked up to find Rikuo clutching a dull square tip katana, and if it had been a real sword, Gozumaru would've died.

The bruise was really starting to hurt, in fact, Gozumaru wouldn't have been surprised if a rib was broken. The strike had hit perfectly in between the ribs.

"Are you okay?" Rikuo's face was concerned.

"Fine. Besides, shouldn't you worry about yourself? You can't even beat—"

He stopped, about to say 'me' when he realized he just had been beaten.

"Let's just go home." Gozumaru said, scowling.

Rikuo smirked. "Yeah."

As they were on the way home, Rikuo thought.

_My tactic worked! So now I need to fight someone I haven't sparred with before, and play up my strengths._

Rikuo wasn't very strong, at least, not strong enough to hold his own against a yokai; they would have him on the ground before he could do anything. But he had always been fast, almost ridiculously fast, not even any of the powerful yokai could keep up with him when he put up an effort, even when he wasn't trying that hard they still couldn't keep up, as proved when Tsurara would used to run to school with him.

He had to find someone new to try with.

**(Hey, I totally suck at** **fight scenes, so you're going to have to put up with the utter horribleness of it all. Carry on, people.)**

Rikuo and Kubinashi stood in the same meadow on the outskirts of town where he had fought Tsurara and Gozumaru. This was a new experience for Rikuo, he had never fought Kubinashi, so he was stunned when the first thing Kubinashi did was run away.

Kubinashi had no sort of inhumane speed, so Rikuo was just able to keep up with him without exerting himself. He followed the sharp twists and turns through downtown Kubinashi made, and then he jumped straight up, and was shocked to find a trail of the glowing red string; Kubinashi's fear. And he had the advantage of being on the ground.

Rikuo twisted in the air, narrowly avoiding the thin, indestructible wire, but getting sliced into on his cheek in the process. He skidded and landed heavily on his hands and knees. Kubinashi ran towards him, running through the complicated web of string, as they did not affect him. Rikuo was on the defensive, and didn't try to attack. Instead, he ran further into the town.

He noticed a tiny string soar in front of him and halted abruptly, just missing the weaving that would have engulfed him and pulled him to shreds had he taken a step further.

_This is certainly different_, Rikuo thought, rocking backwards towards his current target, before turning around sharply and drawing the first of his wakizashi.

The short thin sword was not a dull blade.

He focused and flung his arm out, running at top speeds, when he felt the string wrap around his sword and his arm, binding it tightly and drawing blood, which ran freely down his arm as he was pulled into the air, but the sheer momentum of his run took him over Kubinashi's head before the other string could tear through him. He pulled out the other short sword, the dull one, and thrust it hard into Kubinashi's back. The older yokai groaned and drooped to his knees.

_Perhaps I hit him harder than I intended too._

Rikuo quickly unfurled the demonic string from his arm and sheathed his sword, and ran to Kubinashi to see if the force he had exerted had broken anything. He had; once again, a couple ribs.

Rikuo sighed. He had to learn not to get out of hand with these spars.

"Are you all right Kubinashi?"

The neckless yokai swiveled his head to face Rikuo, and just waved his arms stiffly. Rikuo called the snake and they departed home.

**Okay, feel free to hate on me right now, but I kinda want to get to the point of this story**, **which is Rikuo getting revenge for Kana, so I promise I'll make the rest of these sparring matches between Day Rikuo and the Nura Gumi individual short stories sometime after I post chapter three. But let's get on with the show here. He's is currently hunting around for the yokai that murdered Kana.**

Rikuo had spent the last couple of days asking around about the murders of the young pretty, highschool girls that fit the same area of death that Kana had. Turned out, there were hundreds of them, all in midafternoon, all pierced thousands of times through and through, but only on the body, face still kept perfectly intact. He then used the marvelous tool called the internet and looked into each case of these murders carefully, using the laptop he had bought and the internet modem he had stolen. He kept it locked up in his room, away from the curious little yokai that would definitely destroy it. There was an even amount of exactly three days between each murder, an Rikuo thought back to what the yokai had hissed at him that night:

"_Thisssss issss mine."_

"_I have spilled blood here."_

Definitely territorial. And it was evident she was not particularly powerful, because she only preyed on humans and attacked in daylight, when any threatening yokai were weak.

He checked the date. Three days since the last murder. He knew the location. She would be moving today. He set out, dressed in his usual home fashion, in his yukata.

"I'll be back guys, okay?"

"Wait Rikuo-sama! Do you wish some company? I don't want you out all alone." Tsurara cried. He hadn't told anyone where he was going.

"I'll be just fine. I can take care of myself."

Most of the yokai still assumed that Day form =weak and pathetic, even though he had managed to beat most of them.

He ran out of the door before she could say anything else.

Rikuo got many an odd look from some of the younger people; most young men did not wear traditional clothing, mostly older people did at that point in time. Rikuo kept his head down and turned into one of the many alleys in Ukiyoe, disappearing into the darkness, and began running in the shadows. Eventually he reached the bright yellow police tape that signified the girl's place of passing. She had been at the same high school as Kana, though a grade younger. There was still her blood staining the ground. He stepped under the tape and fingered the walls of the building nearby tenderly, there was also blood spatter here. The sun had turned it brown.

"I know that you are here, yokai."

Silence. Then:

"Human boy, interfering human boy…"

The yokai dragged itself from the darkness, body writhing.

"Go away…don't befoul my sanctuary…I have spilled blood here…"

He looked at her serenely. He could see the remains of what might have once been a beautiful face. He supposed that was why this particular yokai killed pretty young girls, in reminiscence of itself.

"Oh, how nice, you remember me. Do you remember Kana? I was knocked out. And then you spilled blood there also. Do you remember that?"

He slowly drew out the twin spirit blades. Rikuo scowled, contorting his usually innocent face, and then dropped it to callous expression. He dropped his arm and held the other with the blade in a sideways position.

"You killed her, and hundreds of others in a territory you claim are yours. But it is not yours, it is mine. And she was mine. Can you pay the price I require?"

The yokai looked down at the human boy with the short swords, the invader who claimed what she had taken was his. Everything belonged to her. Everything.

"I have no price to pay you, filthy human. You are in no place to challenge a yokai!"

Hundreds of tentacles zoomed out of her body and pulled at her grotesquely, their tips sharp and unforgiving. She loved seeing them writhe and wiggle their way through the body of her victims.

The human boy just stood there, facing her with his pathetic excuses for swords held outward. At the last moment, before the wave of tentacles pierced him, he swiped them gracefully in a chopping motion, like scissors slicing hundreds of straws in half. They landed wetly at his feet.

She was in agony. Her babies…the ones that grew off her body and took away what she could no longer have, were lying dead at his feet. She had had a small taste of the pain that as inflicted by the cuts with the human katana… what was a mere human doing with a spirit blade, and a powerful, well crafted on at that? She dropped to her knees. Her tentacles receding to wet boil like spots on her body. It hurt so much.

"Who are you?" she whispered.

The boy crouched and sat on his heels, wakizashi sheathed. It was clear in his wide brown eyes he was going to leave her in this agony for a while.

"Do you know where you have been killing?"

"Who are you?"

He looked serenely at her. "Nura Rikuo. You are…?"

She looked up into the emotionless brown eyes. "Shu, who has lost her beauty and her land, and must get it back."

He leaned closer.

_He's quite the pretty one,_ she thought dizzily, looking at the handsome boy.

"You should be Shu, one who yearns for what is lost, and thus takes it away from other. Bitter Shu."

She pulled her hands over her ears. Something was evil about this boy… he was definitely human. Cruel. If yokai were the embodiment of pure fear, then human were the embodiment of evil. She wished it was a yokai torturing her as she heard his tormenting words though her hands. She wished that her tentacles were still there, so she could pierce his body over and over again, and take this cruel beauty of his words away.

"Can you hear my voice Shu? I have to thank you, because you let me see how weak I was to let yokai scum like you defeat me and kill Kana. But that can never happen again Shu, thanks to you."

His verbal abuse continued, like a fountain that never stopped running, and despite herself Shu listened, and heard the sense it made.

Dusk fell, and Shu could hear the yokai stir inside her. She opened her eyes when she felt the sound of his voice stop and him stand up. She was terrified to find the crimson-eyed demon she had encountered the night after she had taken a new victim, the one whose friend had come to torture her with.

"Who are you?" she whispered shakily.

He grinned and placed his face uncomfortably close to hers. "Nura Rikuo. Sandaime of the Nura Clan. Goodbye Shu."

"Do I have it back?"

"No."

And then everything was gone.

Everyone was horrified when they found Rikuo walking home in the dark of the night in his Night form with blood running freely from his arms and staining his robes. He was perfectly fine, and walked silently pass them offering no explanation. He disappeared into the highest branches of the sakura tree, and stayed there for five days. He didn't come down for meals, or for a change of clothes, or even at the order of his mother, or grandfather. Finally, after five long days, five long unbearable days, they watched the Sandaime of the Nura climb down from his tree, robes crunchy with brown blood, and disappear into the house.

Thirty minutes later, he appeared in the kitchen, calm, and clean.

"Are you alright Rikuo-sama?"

He gave a small smile.

"I'm just fine."

**Whew, finally done with that one. Now something to lighten the mood, also something that was in my head. (I absolutely, positively promise I'll finish the middle of the previous story. Please forgive me! I'm just jumpy like that.)**

**It sorta building off the setting I placed inside the first story. **

**#4**

**Title: School and Companions**

**Features: Rihan, Nurarihyon**

Rihan was enjoying himself just relaxing around the house when his grandfather's shout echoed across the house.

"Rihan!"

Rihan wondered what he had done to deserve to be yelled at like so as his father stormed into the room.

"What now, old man?"

"You need to control your son."

"What about Rikuo?"

Nurarihyon pulled out his pipe, which had been burning dried sakura leaves instead of its usual opium/tobacco mixture. It now smelled like flowers, and had a slightly pink tone to it.

Rihan shrugged. Rikuo had finally gotten to Nurarihyon. He had already managed to trick and therefore infuriate the rest of the Nura Gumi and the council.

"He's just a little kid."

"He needs something to do."

"You didn't say that when he got Hitotsume."

Nurarihyon scowled at his son.

"Just do something with your son. I most certainly did not give you this much free reign."

"Yeah, but I had people my age to hang out with. Rikuo hasn't got anyone."

Nurarihyon rubbed his chin. "So what?"

"Obviously, he bored out of his skull, and by being surrounded by yokai, he must've gotten the idea that he had to be frightening to get some attention. He knows he's way to innocent looking to convince anyone to be afraid of him, so he tricks people, and makes them feel like idiots to make himself feel better. I suppose he's lonely, and he simply enjoys doing this a lot."

Nurarihyon just looked at his son. He had had no idea Rihan could sound so intelligent if he wanted to.

"In fact, I'm thinking about enrolling him in school when he's old enough."

"School?"

"Yeah, you know the human school a little ways from here? The public one?"

"The human one?"

"Yep. He'd have people his own age to be with, and he'd spend a lot more time out of the house."

Out of the house was what caught Nurarihyon's attention the most. The little brat would be out of the house for most of the day!

"How old do you have to be?"

"Five, I think."

_Way too long a wait, _he thought, looking at his pinkish flower smelling pipe.

"Isn't that a human school?"

"Duh. Rikuo seems entirely human now, so it wouldn't be a problem would it?"

Nurarihyon just leaned back and sighed. He did have a (sadly) human grandson.

"Fine. But tell your son if I find him stealing my things again he will be punished accordingly." He got up and left the room.

Rihan thought about his son, and how sneaky he was if he was able to sneak a pipe from his father. Even Rihan couldn't do that, he always got caught, even when he was using his fear. And then he thought about how excited Rikuo would be when he told him about his decision to send him to school when the time came. He thought about how happy his son would be in just three years' time.

Sadly, poor Rihan wouldn't be there to witness it.

**So, i hope you enjoyed that. i would appreciate if you could give me a list of the people in the Nura Gumi and a detailed explanation of their fears. i read from a crappy scanlator, and i don't want to make a mistake. i'd deeply appreciate it.**


	3. Chapter 3

**!**

**YellowWoman****here,****with****a****third****installment****of****stories****from****my****imagination,****featuring****my****interpretation****of****Nurarihyon****no****Mago,****and****what****I****think****would****be****awesome.****I****thank****my****(2)****reviwers,****I****really****want****to****thank****you****for****your****opinions.****I****have****the****biggest****lack****of****confidence****in****my****writing.****It****makes****me****so****happy****inside****that****you****clicked****the****little****bubble****down****there,****even****though****I****don****'****t****actually****require****reviews****(Like****certain****authors****and****their****review****quotas)**

**Another,****thing,****I****want****to****hear****your****opinion****on****this.****Did****anyone****read****chapter****171?****And****does****anyone****absolutely****agree****that****Night****Rikuo****is****a****bastard,****yokai****or****not?****Tell****me!**

**Anyway, I'll stop babbling.**

**Here's the next chapter:**

**#5**

**Title: Aren't you lucky now?**

**Features: Tsurara (for once)**

Tsurara lay on top of her husband thinking how lucky she was to have him love her, and vice versa. As the sun rose in the sky, she could feel his broad , muscular body thin out, warm and hard. She smiled and got up.

Some woman prefer tough guys, men that would pick a fight to protect their beaus, stand up for them, and be tough in general. The manly man.

Other women prefer a quiet guy, laid back and polite.

And of course, there was the many unfortunate, the vast majority, stuck in between, dissatisfied with whatever they ended up with.

Tsurara was one of these people. The key word was _was._

Rikuo was two of the same, so vividly different but obvious one person as conflicting as it seemed.

She could have both of what she wanted, mentally, and physically.

Even if the inconsistency was a little nerve-racking at first, she loved Rikuo, both forms of Rikuo, Day and Night.

How lucky she was.

**#6**

**Title: Doubt**

**Features:****Rikuo,****age****29****(not****continuing****from****any****other****previous****stories,****but****Day****Rikuo****is****as****awesome****as****I****made****him)**

Rikuo had successfully brought the Nura clan to true greatness. They were feared by even the Kyoto yokai, who were nearly entirely destroyed after their Nue was destroyed. He had managed to actually beat his grandfather in his Day form, something he managed to pull off once in his entire lifetime, and he was very happy as he was with Tsurara in a small town restaurant well away from Ukiyoe. He got several strange looks as they were chatting over a small lunch.

They were a strange couple to many humans.

Rikuo stood out enough with his double colored hair. His body was a little wider than it had been when he was younger, though not from fat, just the fact he wasn't a slim pre-teen anymore. The top part of his hair, the light chocolate brown part, was streaked very lightly with strands of gray, although the solid black bottom part showed none of this development. (Wakana had shrugged when he'd asked where it came from, and stated early graying ran in the family, and had the tendency to skip generations.) His face, though considerably younger-looking than many other men, showed his age prominently. Laugh lines were etched lightly on his face, and all in all, he looked pleasant.

Tsurara looked pretty much the same, her being a yokai, in fact, she looked perhaps two years older than she did before, perhaps two or three years. She looked about fifteen, with wide blue eyes and even longer blue-black hair.

Most of the people rude enough to stare assumed that this girl was not enjoying herself and had been set up. She did look like as if she was with a man fourteen years older than her, after all.

The couple completely ignored everyone else.

"Come on Tsurara-chan. Let's go."

He waved a worker and they paid and left.

Later in the day, when they arrived back at the house, she set off to her duties and Rikuo set off to his.

He was crouched by the window in his room, completely forsaking his thoughts and just watching everyone else as the clan heads arrived for the meeting that the group of doubters and haters that popped up, requesting to meet with Rikuo and all the others. He had obliged, wondering what was so important that Hitotsume would even bother talking to him.

While they were all in the room, the assault began immediately, starting with a very odd question from one of the yokai.

"How old are you Rikuo-sama?"

He frowned. "I'm 29. Why?"

"So, basically, you're old, and around this time is when humans would make more humans. You haven't brought us an heir."

"So? Oji-san didn't have until he was a hundred-something right? Neither did my father, he was a little older than that right? What does it matter to you whether I have a child or not?"

"You're old for a human, Rikuo-sama."

"I'm not that old. Most of the main house is more than twice my age."

"But they look younger than you right?"

"So?"

"So what happens when you're ninety?"

Rikuo smiled. "I'll be fine. Just let it be. If this is all you are going to talk about, I'll ask permission to conclude this meeting."

"Don't humans get weaker as they age?"

"I said, let it alone. I'll be fine. This meeting is over."

He got up abruptly, and left the room first. It was odd to the others, as Rikuo often hung back so he was the last to leave at every meeting.

The questioning yokai smiled creepily and murmured to himself.

Later in the afternoon, when Rikuo was wandering around thinking abut a book he had recently read, he felt a presence behind him. He sighed. Around the late afternoon, nearly evening, most yokai assumed he was just a defenseless human, and thus, the weak ones were often attracted to the faint yokai aura he released

He simply pretended he was unaware, even when it snaked around his face and breathed slowly.

When the yokai felt no fear, it left.

Unlike what Rikuo thought, this yokai was not just showing normal interest.

It was spying.

When the weak yokai reported back to his master, it hissed,

"Very weak, master. He doesn't even seem to be spiritually aware. He should be easy prey, at least during the day, when we are weak."

The yokai was suddenly snatched by his neck.

"Oh, you fool. You should know by now that the true Nura house is never weak. That fool brother of mine, who had the nerve to claim the title of 'the master of all spirits'… that was my title! They have taken my title!

The angry man slammed the yokai against the wall of the abandoned building. It dissapitated, killed by its master.

"That fool…"

The yokai moved from the shadows.

"Aikoririhon…"

A small girl moved out, dragging her snake body behind her.

"When do we attack?"

Aikoririhon bared his teeth.

"Tommorrow. Middle of the afternoon, when he can't access his supposedly all-powerful Night form. I will have the Nura clan, not that human man. He can't be that powerful. It was heard that he had guards even after he was thirteen."

Snickers ran through the crowd the sun set and yokai crawled out from the shadows, enormous monstrous shapes, and ugly slithery things siding across the floor.

"That human will regret the day he accepted the title Sandaime…"

Rikuo was currently not regretting anything as he played with the young yokai of visitors. For some reason, they adored him, and he enjoyed them right back, even when they were being ridicuously finicky. Tsurara was supposed to be watching them, but had little to no luck with them, and he had come to aid his ever-so-faithful servant.

"Uki! You _do__not_ do that! No! Don't go there!"

Rikuo watched in mild amusement as she yelled at the young snake yokai. He had three young babies on his lap, gurgling and looking up at him. He would never say that to her, but he was slightly enjoying watching her yell at them and get slightly pink from exertion.

"Uki, Nami! Relax a little okay? You're going to drive Tsurara crazy."

They immediately heeded his call and got together and started whispering to each other, which quickly progressed to shouting and mild slapping. Rikuo just sighed and Tsurara plopped down onto the ground next to him.

"Ho-ho-how do you do that?"

He smirked. "They just like me better. And I can understand why. You're awful"

She glared death at him. "I swear, they're awful! I think you were the only one worse than the whole lot." She covered her mouth and turned pale pink.

"I knew you were thinking that!" Rikuo cried out laughing, as he got up. "I got to go, they'll be calling for me soon, and I don't want to give us a bad look. Why don't you ask your _Tsukumogami_ to help you? I'm sure the kids would love that, and the ice cream yokais would appreciate being used again to hold ice cream, and you like making it. Everyone wins right?"

Tsurara contemplated it and called her yakkou. (Not sure if I used that right)

Rikuo examined the crowd of ayakashi before him. All of them were much, much older than him.

"Pleased to meet you all. Hopefully you've managed to get aquainted with the other leaders in the clan, at least the ones you haven't met before—"

"Where's Setsura? I assumed she'd be the one to knock some sense into that fool son of mine! Ditches us for 500 years, takes the Nura clan name, and marries some human—"

"Excuse me, miss?"

The woman looked Rikuo up and down, and snorted loudly. "At least theirs respect somewhere in the family," she muttered. Rikuo could she was very, very old, even for a yokai.

"Who're you? You are most definitely not a hanyou, so you're not my grandson. So what do you want here?"

From what she had said, Rikuo decided it was safe to assume that this was his grandfather's mother. She looked as old as his grandfather did. He also decided to ignore her question. The last he needed was her blowing up at him, too.

"I'll get ojji-san for you."

It was even worse than he could have imagined. The old yokai's voice, carried across the enormous house, scaring the birds out of the trees, and any other wildlife for that matter.

"YOU IDIOT SON OF MINE! YOU DISAPPEAR, SEND US ALL ON A WILD CHASE FOR YOU, GET YOUR FREAKIN' HEART _EATEN_ GET MARRIED, HAVE A KID, HAVE A _GRANDKID_ AND DON'T EVEN BOTHER TO TRY TO FIND ME? OR EVEN CONTACT ME?"

"I've been in the house the entire time mother. I haven't left, I swear. If you wanted to find me, I was at home."

It was the most pitiful he had ever seen his grandfather. He flicked his eyes toward Gyuuki and was surprised to find a surprised look n the face. In fact, it seemed the only one unsurprised was Karasu Tengu.

When Nurarihyon's mother's voice rose another pitch, Riku decided it was probably time to intercede.

"It's all right now. We'll just get you a room and you can relax, and continue your discussion with your son, perhaps later, because it is getting a little late you know. We would hate if you exerted yourself before night fell, right?"

Most of the faces disagreed, but Rikuo flashed them a look, and they all quickly began nodding in agreement.

"Kurotabo, please take her to the empty room on the first floor."

Kurotabou quickly obliged, and led the fuming old woman off by her arm, trying desperately to calm her down.

Rikuo quickly turned to his grandfather.

"Why have you never told me you had a _mother?_ Or any family at all for that matter? She's completely unhinged!"

"That's why I didn't tell anyone!"

"Any other unknown relations?"

"I have a brother."

Rikuo fought back the urge to kick the old yokai, turned on his heel, and stormed silently out of the room.

Everyone parted immediately, they could feel the fury curling off of him.

He walked out and nimbly climbed onto his favorite branch in his sakura tree, and thought about this supposed great-uncle he apparently had. He watched, the sun, still high in the sky, and realized he hadn't even asked the old yokai's name. He groaned aloud. Now that he had already met her, it would be embarrassing to have to ask her it.

"He really did something with this, huh?"

Rikuo looked down to see a pretty yokai perhaps a little younger than Tsurara, looking out over the gardens. She didn't appear to notice him. He hung back into the flowers.

She ran small pale fingers over the bark of one of the trees.

"Such pretty trees. Okaa-san told me it was all bushes, and grasses and normal plants."

Bits of frost started lining the plants, killing them into frozen beauty.

"That's prettier."

Rikuo watched with increasing caution as all the plants that had grown yearly since his father's first wife had first grown them were killed by the snow yokai. He drew his weapons, and when she approached his favorite tree, the one he was crouched in, he leapt out an immediately slashed out, directly for her face.

"EEK! What's the matter with you, human?"

Rikuo said nothing and walked around her, observing her silently. She really did remind him of someone.

"Who are you?"

She smirked. "A yuki onna, if that means anything to you."

**!**

**I****finally****wrote****a****short****story****that****was****short.****Yeah,****I****know****its****completely****off****from****what****I****was****writing****before,****but****this****came****upon****me****in****an****enormous****wave****of****INSPIRATION!****I****just****couldn****'****t****resist.****Don****'****t****ask.****  
>Anyway,<strong>**onward!**

**#7**

**Title:**

**Features:****Rikuo,****(age****18,****building****off****events****in****#2****&****#3.****)**

Rikuo was out late at night, morning about to progress, in his Night form. He was thinking about strange happenings that had been going on in the smaller town next to Ukiyoe. How the weaker yokai that scurried the drains had appeared in daylight from nothing, screaming about the future or the past, or something like that. He crouched and groaned. He absolutely hated it when strange yokai appeared and started torturing other yokai, because he had to deal with it in a way that would please all the yokai leaders, in which the only thing that usually satiated them was death. That was usually much too kind, as this was often dealt with in the morning.

"Rikuo?"

He turned around, wondering who had addressed him so informally. With the exception of his grandfather, and his mother, he was always addressed with _–__kun_ or _–__sama_.

He was shocked to find a young-looking girl with enormous sad eyes. There was an evil emanating from her.

"Hello Rikuo."

He tilted his head down at the yokai's disrespect and flicked his crimson eyes to the side.

"Who are you? Answer me."

She giggled and wrung her hands.

"Sanmoto-san made me. He made sure to come back. But I'm having much to much fun! If I bring him back, then I won't be able to play with my fear anymore. I want to play with you, Nura Rikuo."

He narrowed his already narrow eyes at her, and stood and pulled out his katana. He made sure that they had gone and annihilated everyone single yokai- human thing created by the psycho with the paintbrush. They were not particularly advanced, and apparently, they had missed one.

"Let's not get excited now." She skipped around him, and he followed her slowly.

"Okay, let's play!" She jumped forward, and immediately received a shallow cut as she dove back when she saw the sword swinging at her gracefully. She got another one as she kept leaping back at the nonstop abuse of strikes, ducking and diving. Within five minutes her clothes were sliced to bit and so was her skin.

"Why are you so mean?" a small teardrop ran down her face.

He said nothing and stepped forward for the final blow, and found himself frozen, a tiny finger pressed against his forehead.

"What the hell!"

"It will be daybreak!"

Rikuo was in the middle of a dusty road, surrounded on all sides by simple yet old houses. No one was out, which was odd enough. Where had that yokai sent him?

It was dark; there were no street lights, in fact there were no lights at all, except for a small lantern on the door of every house. He could feel the darkness in the air. Foreign yokai. Or rather, he was the foreigner.

He quickly reverted back to his human form, wincing and sharply gasping. It always hurt when he was human at night, after all, night is for Night and day is for Day.

It hurt much more then usual.

Foggily, he heard a voice, a bothersome voice he was very familiar with.

"It came from here!"

And when he lifted his head up, he was looking at a mirror image of himself, harsher and older.

Like his son and grandson, Nurarihyon had problems with boredom.

Nurarihyon had been wandering out of sheer boredom through out the districts, scaring the shit out of any fool on the street.

After all, 400 something years ago, who didn't know of the fearsome yokai that came when the sun set?

Apparently, fools who exerted an amazingly dangerous amount of yokai aura.

He had come upon a boy standing tightly in the middle of the road, clutching himself tightly and breathing hard. From the tiny, slight feeling, Nurarihyon had a feeling that despite the humaneness the boy exerted, their was an odd tinge to it.

He assumed it was a yokai in disguise, and from what he had felt before, a powerful one too.

So he got very close into the boy's face just to see him, and was shocked to find the most enormous brown eyes he had ever seen. They were a pretty color, yet held a knowing and intelligent look in them. There were smile crinkles in the corner. This person did so quite often. They reminded him, of all things, of his wife, Youhime.

He leaned back on his heels.

"So what are you doing here, human? It's not safe at night." He leaned closer from behind, moving quickly.

The boy flicked his eyes back to the yokai, and slowly closed them. Nurarihyon quickly got annoyed, but mostly interested. By now, most of his 'victims' would be shuddering and breathing quickly. Especially when he ran his hand through their hair. This latest one didn't even flinch.

"It's obvious you've lost, boy. Let someone experienced give it a try. You said yopu would entertain me in the least!"

Nurarihyon scowled. Setsura, his other seriously bored companion was whining.

"Fine. I doubt you could do it much better then I could." Leaving a last warm breath close to the odd boy's ear, he disappeared.

_I__don__'__t__think__that__'__s__a__boy,_ Nurarihyon thought shrewdly as he watched Setsura from the top of a small house.

Rikuo opened his eyes and felt almost imperceptibly for his three swords. His grandfather, still young, and very from the looks of it. Setsura, not caring for any children at the moment. He was not where he was supposed to be, not at all. He was where he could not return easily.

Rikuo was in the past, where he was just another human to spread the fear.

If there was one thing he knew, from the looks of it, it was that Nurarihyon was terrifying enough to the people here that they locked their doors, stayed inside, and lit lanterns in hopes of warding yokai off.

There were many things worse then death.

Cold air suddenly filled the night, and Rikuo stepped back, looking through the impending fog for the thing that was most definite to emerge from it.

It was also familiar, as if he had felt this before.

Setsura. It was well known that she had been the oldest yokai before she disappeared, even more affront then the old man, and had the most nasty attitude the world had ever seen.

He could feel cold running up his ankles and drew his twin blades, jumping back and landing n his feet hard. The reverberating shock ran up his ankles, numb and tingling, and his legs, cold and stiff.

A white whirlwind rushed at him, and he rolled to the side. What a mistake that was.

Enormous icicles slammed up from the ground, nearly impaling him several times. If there was one thing his Day form could not do, it was hold up against a yokai at night.

Night was for Night, and Day was for Day, to quote.

Fear crept up on him, and he immediately started to retreat when a pain shot up from his arm, and looked to find his arm entirely impaled on the evil icicle. He couldn't help but drop to his knees and scream, clutching his arm. He gave the woman that looked so much like Tsurara but lacked all of her innocence a dirty look, and fled, praying that the yokai didn't follow him. They didn't.

He slid into a corner of an alley, tearing a piece of his yukata to make a bandage to stop the wound, which was flowing nonstop, and freely. He was getting very dizzy. He wished that daybreak would come so he could heal his arm before it got infected. Even thought Rikuo was in his Day form, he was a yokai and none of his human powers worked.

Dizziness was coming faster, his arm still hadn't quit bleeding, and he was soaked with crimson blood. Rikuo changed to his Night form, where the wound wasn't inflicted on his second body. He fainted, soaked with blood. Just then, the sun came peaking over the heads of the small houses.

A small mousy woman came walking up through the sunny path of midmorning. She was very pretty, beneath her large hat, and wore nicer clothes than most. She was still quite young, and most people smiled at her graciously. A young girl ran up to the pretty woman, tugging her robe frantically, crying out with another crowd of kids her age.

"Nura-san! Nura-san! Please come quick! Jonji found a boy in the alley!"

"Yeah!"

A chorus of small voices cried out at her.

"Okay, it's okay, just show me where he is."

She was practically dragged into a small alley between two houses. She gasped. She had seen several injuries children often found in the mornings; men who had drank too much and fallen, petty injuries of younger people, sick friends. But she had never seen an injurie as bad as this; not since Kyoto a few years back.

The boy with the odd two-toned hair had his arm nearly torn open in half, from his wrist to just under his armpit. He was coated in dried blood. She wouldn't be surprised if he had already bled to death. She touched her soft fingertips to his face, seemingly frozen in pain.

A gentle golden light spread down his body; he was still alive if her healing worked. The boy stirred, and she could see he was actually more of a young man, with more of a babyface than you could have imagined a boy could have.

He opened his eyes a little, and closed them again.

The pretty woman stood up, and asked some of the children around her to go get her some water. And to make sure it was cold.

Rikuo awoke to a refreshing splash of water dumped onto his face. He gasped and squirmed, clothes crunching with the dried blood. There was a shadow above him. He leaned back against the wall, looked up, and saw a mirror image of himself, womanized.

He shook out his overlong hair, flinging water droplets everywhere.

"Ugggghhhhhh…" was the only thing he could make out.

"Are you okay, mister?"

A young boy was looking at him intently.

"You was bleeding a lot so we went an' got Nura-san, she's real nice and fixed you up."

Rikuo wondered if that was the pretty woman in front of him, standing calmly. She looked just like the tiny engraving he had found in his grandfather's room while snooping around.

"Thank You, Nura-san, for fixing my arm."

She smiled.

_She__really__does__have__a__young__face,_Rikuo thought. It was so deeply in contrast to his grandfather's severe face.

"Come on, young man, we should probably get you a new change of clothes. You'll attract attention to yourself that way." The young woman. Rikuo now recognized fully as Youhime helped him up.

"I'll take you to my house, and we'll get you a decent meal and you can be on your way if you wish.

There was a collective gasp. Everyone knew the nice princess lived in the evil house. Rikuo was completely unaware and was putting all his energies to first) staying conscious, and 2) keeping up his façade. They headed through the dusty streets of Ukiyoe, 400 years ago.

Nurarihyon was lazily spread across the futon in his room, mouth open, staring at the ceiling. He was always very careful not to let anyone but his wife see him in such a pitiful state, because usually, if she did, she'd make his day much more interesting.

So he was very unprepared when she burst in to his room, threw open his closet, and dug through his piles of clothes.

"What the hell are you doing, Youhime?"

"Did you attack a boy yesterday night?"

"What?"

She turned.

"I said,_did__you__attack__a__boy__yesterday__night?__"_

He looked at his wife.

"I just scared him. Setsura did the rest, but anyway, I'm sure he's fine, what's it to you?"

Youhime ignored her husband, pulled out one of his smaller yukatas, and sighed.

"It's way too long, but they'll just fit. What a petite young man." She sighed and marched purposefully out of the room.

Nurarihyon, curious, followed, and was horrified to see the frightened human from the previous night kneeling respectfully in a tiny guest room.

"Thank you very much Nura-san. I very much appreciate it, but it wasn't necessary."

"It's quite all right. You sure you don't want to bathe or anything?"

The boy shook his head.

"All right then."

She closed the curtain, and glared at her husband, and prepped herself for a very polite talk with Setsura.

Nurarihyon hung around the room, until finally deciding to go in.

The boy, yet unnamed, was half-dressed and emanated absolutely none of the aura he'd felt the previous night.

Nurarihyon stared at his back for a split second before it disappeared under a quick tug of cloth.

It was muscled, unlike his thin-looking frame suggested, and writhed with pale gray webby tattoos.

Three swords, two of them spirit blades disappeared expertly into his new clothes.

Nurarihyon was surprised not to see shikigami disappearing into his clothes as well.

The innocent—but obviously deadly boy froze before staring exactly at the place Nurarihyon was standing. The yokai stopped breathing and moved, and to further his surprise, the boy's eyes followed him perfectly. As if he could see right through his fear. The yokai decided not to take chances and slid out of the room.

A little later, he witnessed the boy thanking Youhime at the courtyard. Now that they were standing next to each other, the resemblance was more obvious, though the odd-haired boy was much taller and wiry than his wife. He quickly left, all without having told anyone his name.

"Youhime," he began, sneaking up next to his wife, " Something's off with that kid. He had two spirit blades, and only yokai and onmyougi ( did I spell that right?) carry those."

She just shrugged.

"He didn't have the Keikan symbol or anything, maybe he was a rogue. They'll hear about him if he's any good." She supplied.

"Anyways, I think, I might check him out again." Nurarihyon smiled, glad at having found something new to interest him.

**Well,****that****'****s****done.****Not****really****feeling****like****I****'****ve****done****a****good****job,****but****very****happy****with****the****way****that****my****fanfics****are****coming****out.**

**Anyone here like Blue/Ao no exorcist? I've got a fanfiction in my mind, but I don't know their mother's name. I'm not sure if it was mentioned in the manga, and I don't watch the anime, so if anyone knows, shout it out to me okay? If it wasn't give me a good name okay? Please? **

**Check out my Bleach fanfic! It kinda sucks :.( **

**I'd appreciate your opinions, as always. **

**YellowWoman is currently on the brink of:**

**Pure Sanity for once. I think I did good on an Algebra test, and for once, during one of my marching band competitions, I played 85% of the music! Even though we got seventh place, it was the best I'D ever performed, so screw the judges!**


	4. Chapter 4

**!**

**YellowWomanontheBrink is back with a fourth installation of her first fanfiction!**

**When I began posting my other fanfictions, I was surprised to see that my most popular was an awkward crossover. Go figure.**

**One of my friends is absolutely in love with a horror hate-fic on Maximum Ride.**

**Go figure. I don't understand people.**

**Thanks for clicking and reading. **

**Thanks to Saperia. ****

**Quick Question: What the hell is the difference between Nurarihyon no Mago (manga) Nurarihyon no mago (anime) and Nurarihyon no mago sennen makyou?**

**I'm just a poor girl, left oh-so-confused!**

**I should stop talking and get on with it. No one reads author's note anyway.**

**Unless your reading it now. If so , kudos!**

**Anyway…**

**And so…BEGIN!**

**#8**

**Title: Continuing from #7 **

**Features: See previous chapters **

Rikuo set off down the long road. Dust flinging up from his steps and staining the bottom of his yukata with its light colored dust. Nurarihyon had spotted him while he was changing, and was aware of the fact that he was spiritually armed. He set off in (what he hoped) was the opposite direction of Kyoto, just in case there were yokai trailing behind him. He turned right every time he hit a crossroads, going in completely random directions with the sense of foreboding he could not seem to shake off that something was following him. Every night, he slept on the ground, off the road and several times he had to avoid passengers. More than once he had seen the lonesome traveler attacked by stray yokai. Rikuo cocked an eyebrow at the thought. During this time in history, people really wee terrified of the things that lurked in the night.

Three days. That's how long he had spent wandering the roads, going nowhere, and when he finally reached a dead end, he got a smack of reality shoved in his face.

He was lost.

Absolutely and undoubtly lost.

Inevitably lost.

He supposed he could have predicted this.

Damn.

He sank to his knees n the middle of the road. It'd had been naïve of him to believe he could find his way around, 400 hundred freaking years in the past. Despite how fast he'd had to mature, he still had the slight naivety that made most people think him vulnerable when they didn't know him well.

Rikuo could feel a cold hand on his shoulder.

He numbly looked up to see a man, with dark hair covering most of his face and a ong beard neatly braided and disappearing into his shirt. Something was odd about him.

"Do not despair on the road son; it attracts the foul demons of the night."

Rikuo was silent, though he nodded. The moon was high in the sky, and this man did not sense the yokai aura that Rikuo gave off, even disguised in his day form. He stood up and set off, going around the man and heading back where he'd come.

"Oi, Yostiba! Did'ja fin' somethin'?"

Rikuo froze. The man with the braided beard looked at Rikuo's back.

"Kid, wher d'you think you're goin?"

Rikuo turned around and scratched his head, embaressed.

"I'm afraid I'm lost."

"that's pretty obvious."

Rikuo scowled and continued down the road."

"Yo, bozu! Come 'ere and we'll take you where we're going. At least its civilization. You're gonna get yourself killed out here.

"So who are you?" Rikuo asked, not appreciating the comment about his height. At least he had passed the 5'1 mark. (Did you know at that Day Rikuo is 4'11? Night Rikuo isn't very tall either, he's only 5'9. Hah ! Midget men with big egos.)

The man with the braided beard puffed up his chest and rubbed his face.

"I am the leader of the onmyougi!"

"You're a Keikan/"

"No."

"Sp then how are you—"

"Those Keikans are a buncha lazy bums. I heard they actually had to rely on a bunch of weak filthy yokai to take down a pregnant one. Talk about sad. We wander the countryside, looking for yokai to exterminate. We were heading to Ukiyoe village, there were rumors of a kidnapped princess being held ther and forced to bear children for the Lord of Pandemonium." He leaned close. "I also heard it's his base of operations."

Rikuo frowned. "I just came from there."

The man with the braided beard smiled. "Then you'll be a great asset. Have you ever tried to use a shikigami? We'll teach you now."

Rikuo sweat-dropped. He really didn't want to, and their was a yokai trailing him. He didn't wan to have to be forced to attack a yokai from the main house, even if it just was one of the smaller ones.

The person trailing Rikuo was definitely not a small yokai. In fact, it was Nurarihyon himself, interested in watching the boy wither as he walked the roads. In fact when the boy dropped to his knees, he was considering dragging him off this nowhere road to a town or something.

He watched as the boy tried, and failed at summoning a shikigami after being taught the basics. These men, though wandering rogues, were quite skilled with the omyougi tools.

When dawn broke, one of the papers finally responeded.

First it blew up.

Then it turned and attacked Rikuo.

Nurarihyon took note of the boy's twitching hands, as if he was itching to pull the sword sNurarihyon knew he had concealed expertly in his yukata.

But he didn't, and Nurarihyon was impressed at how fast that boy could run.

Quick even steps, as he outran the shikigami as it tried desperately to follow him, roaring in anger. He leaned closer. No shikigami held such fierceness towards it target (which wasn't usually his master) unless it was trying to fulfill its purpose, to destroy yokai.

"Shit," he could hear Rikuo mutter as he ran along behind him, "this is why I don't use shikigami."

_So he's experienced with this sort of thing._

He watched as Rikuo expertly slid out his katana and neatly sliced the shikigamiin half with a powerful smooth, strike.

The baby-faced boy cocked his head.

"Whoever's there, you can come out now. I know that you are there."

Nurarihyon smirked and dropped his fear. This kid was much more perceptive than he first assumed.

"Wow. You're one of the few that can do that. In fact, as far as I'm concerned the only other is my wife. You almost remind me of her."

Nurarihyon looked back to find a look of pure seriousness spread across his face. The unnamed boy was clearly older than he first looked. Nurarihyon noticed he wasn't even looking at him.

He swiftly turned, to block an attack from a dog-like shikigami. It nicked his arm, and he drew Nenekirimaru, and slashed in a fluid motion, cutting it in half. Three more surrounded him and the boy, snarling and spitting and Nurarihyon was unsurprised to see large groups of rowdy looking men, all grimacing. Strangely enough, none of them reacted to the fact that one of their comrades was in danger. He flicked his amber eyes towards the boy to see a cold stony face. The boy slid out two matching, well-crafted wakizashis, and sliced them quickly, standing in a break of the circle of enemies.

"Wow, I didn' know you could use a sword!"

The oldest-looking, a man with a braided beard roared with laughter.

"Here's a test! If you wanna join our ranks, kill that yokai."

Nurarihyon almost smiled at the paling face of the young man. His knuckles were white on his blades. At least someone was educated out of the lot.

Rikuo was breathing hard. Kill his grandfather was an unimaginable thought,especially four hundred years in the past. He thought back to the senseless phrase the yokai had said.

_It will be dawn._

_It__has__been__four__fucking__dawns,_ he thought bitterly as he turned and ran from his grandfather, who immediately gave chase, as did the rest of the men. At the last, second, not completely stopping, he drew the human blade and slashed it quickly down towards Nurarihyon's shoulder, while circling around after the yokai dodged and running the opposite way.

"Are all you are going to do is run?"

Rikuo ignored this comment as he rushed past braided-beard and another man he didn't get a look at before he was quickly caught up to.

"You really can run, you know that?"

He feinted out towards Nurarihyon's chest, who leapt back and than Rikuo turned sharply, skidding and using his hands to slow himself. He was breathing short shallow breaths and looking back at Nurarihyon, who was gazing at him over his shoulder.

And then of course, one of the onmyougi just had to interfere.

Rikuo almost groaned out loud when he saw four men and their shikigami, armed with blades, attempt to ambush him. Apparently bradided-beard had deemed Rikuo worthy of their vagabong troupe and decided to 'help'.

He drew both the wakizashis and watched as Nurarihyon disposed of them all but braided-beard with ease. He was tense with anticipation, as thy slashed at each other, until Nurarihyon disappeared, reappeared, and slashed him across the chest. The blood spray coated the air pink.

At that moment he decided perhaps a fight was not quite the good idea. After all, he had never seen his grandfather this brutal. He ran into the light woods and shrubbery around the road and prayed he would not be detected as he crawled underneath a twisted tree root, swords crossed over his chest.

For once luck was on his side, and Nurarihyon, left.

He got up and ran out to the road, to see if any of them were still alive.

Surprisingly, most of them were.

Sure, they were lying on the ground and groaning and bleeding, but they were alive.

Rikuo grabbed braided beard and hauled him up, dragging him into the cart, doing so with every body that was still alive, and dumping the dead ones off the road in the woods.

He had a long trip ahead of him.

**#9**

**Title: Incoherant author interruptions + story**

**Features: Rihan and Wakana!**

**A/N: Okay, so I read chapter what, 177 right? They _finally_went into closer detail with WakanaxRihan, and how she got him out of his funk. It was so adorable! I just had to write this. **

Kubinashi looked over at his master, Nura Rihan, who was sitting down on the edge of a fall, watching the sunset with a human girl he had been hanging out a lot more often with. It was a little hard to believe that this was _his_ Nidaime being treated so.

"You mope too much! Now smile! Happiness comes to those who smile." She prodded him.

He just looked at her.

"Okay then! I guess I just have to make you smile!"

She began pulling furiously at the corners of his face until he grinned back at her and she squealed.

"There! See, isn't that so much better! I prefer it to when you just sit there _moping._ Don't even try to deny it."

"Okay, okay! Just don't pull at my face again."

She grinned and pinched his cheeks until they were rosy pink.

Kubinashi looked at the strange scene as the human girl—no Wakana-chan s she requested she be called giggled when Rihan pinched her back.

It was so ridiculously childish that he couldn't help but grin along with it, and decided to wander so that Rihan could perhaps get a bit of privacy with her.

When dusk fell, and Kubinashi went to fetch his master for the night, he was unsurprised when Rihan had smiled—a genuine smile—and said he'd prefer to escort Wakana home, well Kubinashi just couldn't say no could he?

He watched him walk her home, her chattering friendlily the entire until they faded off into the distance.

**#10**

**Title: Incoherant author ramblings + story #2**

**Features: Wakana, Kubinashi, and the lady that stole faces and stuff from chapter 177**

**Warnings: Severe spoilers for any chapter updates—if you haven't read Kubinashi vs Sanmoto's facial skin, skip**

**A/N: Hell yeah! Wakana's got a gun!**

Facial skin lady was quite shocked when a bullet tore into her.

That wasn't quite part of the script at all!

"You've ruined it!" She howled, screaming at the mistress of the Nura clan. Kubinashi was staring dumbfounded.

"Where… did you get that?"

Wakana smiled.

"Why, Kubinashi-kun! I live in a house surrounded by by ayakashi, surely I must have hidden it somewhere in my bosom! Don't act so surprised."

**A/N: Story goes differently from here, only because you know how much I _adore_awesomising characters.**

Wakana, oh-so-innocent, confident, carefree Wakana raised her pistol expertly, covered her left (right?) ear and fired, tearing into the enormous 'hero's' face.

"Oh poor you," she said, leveling her gun again, "You should know that this battle isn't a play. It's only in theatres where the hero fully triumphs. The villain will always take his portion of victory." Silently, she thought to herself, as she aimed again, _and__your__death__will__be__mine__…_

Kubinashi tackled facial skin lady ( yes that is what I will call her, her name I really long and I only got a quick chance to look a the chapter while waiting at the library) as she grabbed Wakana, roaring in fury, drowning out the lady's screams.

"Put her down!," Kubinashi roared, strangling the enemy with his bright red string.

"No one shall take away my Nidaime's happiness! Not again!" He hissed, lowering his head to be equivalent with his opponents face as Wakana stood firmly behind him, raising her pistol once more.

_That__is__what__she__did,_ he thought, as a deafening boom cleared his ears,_she__made__this__place__happy__again._

He stood up and wiped the blood spray from his disembodied head as the facial skin lady struggled to stand up.

"Stand back, please Wakana-sama," he ordered as the yokai finally stood. From the corner of his eye, he watched her obey and move away from the center of the fight.

**And… now I wait for the next chapter and curse out Shiibashi Hiroshi for making the damn things so short. **

**#10a **

**Title: YellowWoman taking note of something.**

**Features****"****:****YellowWomanontheBrink**

Hello readers. Just wondering, is it me, or do all male mangakas make female characters ABSOLUTELY FUCKING USELESS? I mean, it pisses me off beyond all belief. Just because they are girls does not mean they are useless.

(Yes, I'm talking about Tsurara and how uninteresting in a fight she is.)

I mean, why the hell is Kana tagging along?

At least Maki and Torii try.

No, I'm not hating on the manga.

I just wonder…

I mean, let's go a bit off topic here.

Look at other animes all written by men.

Her is my useless female anime character list:

Naruto: Sakura.

Blue Exorcist: Shiemi. I don't hate her, but she doesn't _do_anything!

Bleach: Orihime. I hate that girl. Always getting in the frickin way.

If I go on I'll start cursing and probably get a hate review, so I'll stop. Thank you for putting up with my incessant ramblimg. I'm sorry. I just noticed that. And it makes me happy to know that despite the fact Wakana may seem defenseless and weak and useless, she is NOT! She knows how to get out of the way and does not wait to be rescued!

Ahhhhh….

Normally I just rant to my sister, but she doesn't like any of my anime *sob*

Okay, now I'm definitely going to stop.

**#11**

**Title: How she got it**

**Features: Wakana **

**A/N: Okay, I'm officially obsessed with girls+guns. Especially Wakana. I've always liked her and felt a little sad that Hiroshi never went to close in detail with Rihan's and her's relationship…**

Wakana wandered the underground of Ukiyoe and the neighboring town. Clutched in her light and simple kimono, was a cold barrel that was hidden unnoticeably underneath her breasts. The freezing metal made her want to fidget, but she refrained from the action.

She wondered about what Rihan had told her the week after they had been married, after she had been attacked by a stray yokai when she insisted on visiting each of the districts rather than just meeting the heads.

"_Are you sure you're okay with this? I mean—"_

"_Are you questioning me Rihan-san?"_

"_Of course not, it's just—"_

"_I'm fine.":_

_She had rubbed her bandages tenderly. _

Rihan had completely overeacted because she had been entirely defenseless. She had had to hide behind her husband's strength.

_Well,_ she thought,_no__more__of__that.__I__'__ll__be__able__to__defend__my__self__if__I__need__to._

She fingered the extra bullet cases—the special type and the normal, human ones.

_It won't matter if he's human or yokai._

After all, Wakana spent a lot of time alone at home. She was the only human in the household, physically weaker and useless in a fight. She always hung back, whenever the main house had left for whatever threat there was.

She had no problem with this. She would hold the home down, and make sure, for better or for worse, that whenever they came back, be it something as miniscule as patrol or as dangerous as Kyoto, they had someplace to rest, and that they came home to a perfectly managed house.

When her son, Rikuo was born, they treated her respectfully, though it was clear some of the older ones were displeased with how 'human' he was, Wakana could've cared less. She wasn't alone in the house anymore, and then, before she could even truly appreciate it, he went off with the others. He was only thirteen, but Wakana had expected it, ever since he was old enough to talk.

So now she was alone in the house simply awaiting their return.

Should the circumstances change though, she sure as hell had no intention of being absolutely useless, and have to be _defended._ It made her want to cringe.

So when the yokai had the nerve to burst in on her home.

Once she was done being surprised….

Whatever ayakashi in her home had better expect a bullet in their face.

She would be glad to give it.

**Okay,****I****'****m****going****to****end****this****chapter.**

**Tell me what you think! Thanks for reading this far!**

**This chapter was done on 11/ 10 at 11:55 eastern time! I don't know military.**

**Check out any of my other fics! They make no sense! (Just kidding.)**

**Don't forget to answer my question! I really am confused!**

**YellowWoman is currently on the Brink of:**

**Dude. I'm so far gone into the recesses of vegetation I can't even ramble about shit.**

**How to Train Your Dragon new fav movie. I discovered the magic of torrents. It takes 16 hours to download 1 gigabyte. I'm currently obsessed with Hetalia. I'm writing a Leviathan fanfiction because Goliath made me angry. This is the fortieth page of FMM: Nurarihyon no mago. Joy. **

**See ya! ****


	5. Chapter 5

**!**

**YellowWomanontheBrink is back!**

**Still bored, so I'm just gonna start the fifth chapter. It's gotten so long—more than 20,000 words and only five chapters. Do you think they are too long?**

**And so…BEGIN!**

**#12**

**Title: continuing from #8, which continued from #7**

**Features: see previous chapters**

The dust from the road was quickly irritating Rikuo.

It had been easier too ignore it when you had more important matter, such as aching feet, starving, and incredible thirst when he had been walking.

Sitting in this hard bench, letting the cattle take them wherever they wanted to go, it was a lot more difficult, as he had absolutely nothing to do.

When the sun had risen again (what the yokai had said about dawn still made no sense to him whatsoever) he had healed them all, exhausting himself n the process. When he had fallen asleep at the reigns, he had realized the cattle were better drivers than he was. And so that led to his current situation, laying with an aching back, listening to the sounds of men groan as they all woke, one by one in the back of the cart. Most were still too weak to get up and bother him, which Rikuo was glad for. The rogue omnyougi annoyed (more like pissed him off) him every time they got out, asking about Yostiba—which Rikuo had found out was braided beard's name—and asking whether he would survive. Rikuo knew he was going to be okay, though he hadn't managed to heal all of Yostiba's wounds—he would killed himself if he tried. The man with the braided beard was still unconscious inside the cart.

As the days wore on of following a cow's sense of direction, Yostiba began yelling and murmuring in delirium, and at this development, their was nearly always at least one of the rowdy men in the cart, the others walking beside. Rikuo couldn't risk completing the healing and expose himself.

And, as if by coincidence, they ended up right back where they started.

Ukiyoe Town.

Rikuo felt like either a) cursing, b)crying, or c) let's just do both!

When he had asked one of the men, San, why they ended up back here, he had merely shrugged.

"This'ere's the only village for weeks travel. The rest be brush and forest."

Rikuo couldn't believe his misfortune. He couldn't help but wonder, as if for the millionth time, when the hell 'dawn' was going to come.

"Okay," he said, calming himself down, "let's find a doctor for Yostiba-san, and then I suppose I'll hitch a ride on the back on a cart or something."

San just shrugged. "Good luck wit' that."

Rikuo ignored the man,, heading straight to where he knew the market place would be. He crouched by an elderly woman selling flowers.

"Excuse me, obaa-san, may you please direct me to perhaps a doctor, or someone professed in the healing arts? I have a friend who is very sick."

The old lady's eyes got wide and she nodded her read furiously.

"Youhime-dono. She is very good."

Rikuo frowned. He knew he absolutely could not go to Youhime, though she probably was the best option.

"Is their anyone else?"

She frowned.

"Just go to Youhime-dono. She don' charge, and she ia a better healer than anyone. Like you were never sick."

Rikuo could see that this woman was going to be very persistent, so he decided to go along with it as a plan bloomed in his mind.

"Thank you."

Rikuo loaded braided-beard onto a makeshift stretcher, dismissed any of the volunteering men, much too many suspicions, and dragged the man up the small hill that led to his future home.

When he rang at the gates, it was opened by a young-looking man—probably a yokai in disguise. He exuded an aura of displeasure.

"May I please call on the services of Nura-sama? I have money and will pay, just please, my friend is very sick, and we've been traveling for a while now."

A frown spread across the nameless doorkeeper's face.

_As__far__as__I__am__concerned,_ he reckoned,_Youhime-sama__doesn__'__t__work__for__money._

"No, now go away—"

"Don't be rude."

The yokai was nudged out of the way and the pretty lady Youhime appeared.

"Oh! It's you!" She waved and dismissed the man who had opened the door, ushering Rikuo and Yostiba inside, to one of the more impersonalized guest rooms, where she lay the sick man on the ground and immediately began working on him.

"So," she began, "stranger-san, tell me, how did your friend get injured?"

"We were attacked," he replied truthfully.

Youhime narrowed her eyes and didn't pry, though she did say:

"I thought yo u were by yourself."

Rikuo was surprised she remembered him.

"Well, yes. I met him on the road."

She nodded, her suspicions still thick on him.

Rikuo had been thinking that if there was anyway to find that yokai, it would probably be best to hang around where it had been, and the most reliable source of information, probably on any demon, from a demon itself. Thus making the Nura mansion the perfect place to be, at least at the moment, despite the fact he almost detested Setsura, and how rough the house was, and the lack of control in the place.

"Please wait here," Youhime began," Your friend will be fine."

"Thank you, he replied, still looking at the ground.

The moment Youhime was gone, he leapt up, and began exploring the house, surprised to find it exactly the same as the future, though it smelled more like raw wood and sap ( a surprisingly pleasant scent). He ran a finger along the paneled wood, surprised at how rough it was.

Rikuo tensed. Someone was coming.

He slid into a room, and thankfully, it was empty (more like uninhabited). Pressing his face against the thin door, he listened to their conversation as they passed.

"Hey, did'ja hear about that bag lady everyone's been calling crazy?"

"What about her?"

"Well, she was going on about big roaring metal monsters commanded by humans, and relics to the gods that touched the air and trapped yokai. She was also blabbing on about the demon that showed her horrifying visions for three weeks."

"Sure ain't one of ours! Think we should alert boss?"

"Nah, it's probably nothing. "

Rikuo frowned. Whoever this yokai was, she was wreaking havoc all around. And the gossip proved absolutely useless, as he still had no idea what the hell "dawn" meant. Sighing, he crossed the hall again into the opposite room, where he was immediately met with a short blade.

"Who are you, boy? Why are we in a demon house?"

Rikuo hastily pushed the blade from his face.

"Listen, I brought you to a healer's house. You were sickly and delirious for days, and I brought you back the way we came. Be nice so you can get out of here."

Braided Beard looked at him warily.

"Did you kill it?"

Rikuo looked away. "No, I didn't. He was quite powerful, it killed many of your troupe, and it almost killed you."

"huh. Guess you're not so good as your fancy swords suggested."

Rikuo ground his teeth and stoutfully ignored the man.

"I hope you can get us out of this mess," Yostiba hissed, "because I can sense so many yokai and demons here, I feel like you've managed to drag us into hell itself. We've got ourselves quite an extermination to do tonight."

He curled his lip in distaste. "It's unwise. You're going to get yourself and the others killed."

Yostiba simply drew closer. "Don't matter as long as a coupla demons, particularly that one that injured me, goes down with them."

Rikuo grasped Yostiba's shoulders firmly. "That's suicide. The man you are trying to kilkl is the Lord of Pandemonium. Just give up, take your leave, don't try and hurt him, or his wife or any sort of shit like that."

Braided-beard bared his teeth. "What's the point of living if I can't take out a yokai and pull myself a girl in the bargain. Come if you want, but I've never felt better in my life, and we attack full force tonight." Shrugging the short teen off rudely, he stormed confidently through the yokai house.

Even though Rikuo barely knew this man, he wasn't so cold, nor so cruel as to be reckless enough to let a man walk to his death. He breathed out. Finding the yokai that had cursed him to the past would have to be put on hold.

Afterwards, he was requested,-more along the lines fiercely ordered by Lady Youhime to guest in the main house, something he followed with an uncertain air. He ended up being stuck helping with women's work, something he did not particularly mind, had it not been for Setsura, the sort of second in command in the housework and keeping, who made sure to make his stay a living hell. It was, and he made deepest efforts to stay close to the Youhime, who shared the work more evenly, though he insisted on taking the brute of it.

Most of the yokai in the house had a deep distrust of him, as did the Nurarihyon, because even though he had stayed with them for several days, he refused to tell anyone his name.

_If this really is the past, I'm not going to risk the future by giving a name that my father might end up calling me._

Youhime had just taken to calling him Stranger-san, and Setsura mocked him for it.

"So, _Stranger-san_, what do you want here? It's obvious your presence isn't needed here. What real man knows how to do housework anyway?"

Rikuo had merely shrugged, further pissing off the already irritated yuuki-onna.

Besides the animosity he was dealing with from Setsura, he was also thinking about what had happened to Yostiba's threat. On the first night of the coerced stay, he had been tense and armed and shaky, prepared for any sort of attack on the main house. He had gotten awkward stares from almost everyone, and completely ignored them. When the night had come and go, he had slightly relaxed, and as days passed with no word from the unorthodox omnyougi, he had simply fallen into routine and avoided almost all the yokai but the women of the house. It was if he was an invisible servant that didn't exist, but for the work he did.

As he deftly scrubbed down the clothing quickly and harshly—blood didn't come out easily—his current working partner of the day gazed over at him.

"Why don't you just leave? You aren't much use to anyone here."

_You__'__re__much__use__to__me__here,_ he thought, thinking over all the overheard conversations and useful information that would bring him closer to his intended target.

"I'm going to leave soon," was his polite response, "I have no intention of burdening the house with my overstay. The truth is, I got completely lost last time, and I don't want to have to do that again. So now I've got the gist of things, I'm not going to stay much longer." He kept his head and eyes down, focused at his current task.

The yokai looked over at him curiously, then just shook her head and ssqueezed the clothes he had finished scrubbing.

That night, a primal roar rang through the quiet air. The house was empty, after all, yokai were creatures of the night and often left along to their own business. The Nura clan at this time was not the large famed place it was of the future, and you had to go out and spread your clan name to be known.

Rikuo rose sharply from his bed, eyes flicking between the Night red and the chocolate brown they had been forced to be for days. He threw off his blankets and ran through the house on silent feet, ready to attack. Hastily looking left and right, he rushed to the front courtyard and lazily turned around, spotting various men hiding in the trees surrounding the estate, just as tense as he was.

_Damn,_ he thought, a string of curses running through his head simultaneously,_they__'__ll__blow__my__cover,__and__get__themselves__killed._ The only one in the house was himself and Youhime, and Nurarihyon didn't take kindly to those attacking his wife.

He waved his arms seriously, and mouthed,_they__'__re__not__here._ In the cover of the trees, he could see bright eys widen and whispering wisp through the trees as the message went on. Rikuo snuck into the shrubbery, looking solely for Yostiba.

Unknowing in the darkness, he slammed full front into a wall of abdomen and beard. Braided thickly, stood Yostiba.

"What's this about," the much older man hissed.

"They aren't there, yokai are never there at night," Rikuo hissed just as maliciously.

Yostiba glared and quickly called off his men until none were left there but for himself and Rikuo.

"I'll be back tomorrow."

Rikuo wanted to roll his eyes at the mans stubbornness when he felt a little sliver of uneasiness slip by him. As the older man walked away, Rikuo tried to focus on the fear he had just felt—but then again, he had never been particularly good at sensing fear. He watched the broad retreating back and headed back into the house.

The next day was uneasy and tense, as there had been news Rikuo had eagerly been awaiting—news of disappearing humans and the returning completely insane, and uncurable too. Whatever had happened, she had not began to pray on yokai from the clan yet.

Rikuo took on all of the out-of-house assignments, like groceries and news and the like, often going out with Youhime, who he noticed was very quiet and reserved. More often people approached her than her them. Frequently, hanging around the bar that a stooped old man ran with his raucous son was the unorthodox band of omnyougi, from which he received many unfriendly glances. Every time he passed it, he could could now tell something was definitely off with Yostiba, who still had yet to follow up on his threat of attacking, successfully at least. Often the burly man had done nothing but stare every time Rikuo passed. No interesting information was often derived from the group of men about the yokai he had yet to find.

The day Rikuo finally came to the conclusion that the child yokai that had transported him here was not in Ukiyoe, he packed his bags and left, graciously thanking the household, which, with them all gathered around him, noticed was much smaller than the size it was in the future. It was much quieter, but for his voice.

Of course, it just his luck that Yostiba decided o attack that day.

Wild roars rang through the air as shikigami burst through the gate, immediately devouring and destroying several of the demons around him. This was immediately followed by the even wilder cries of burly men, who chased in after the magical creatures. He backed close to the wall of the house. He would never win in a fight if more than three yokai took him on, at least without tapping into his Night Form's power, which would immediately give himself away as a hybrid.

Blood flew into the air as each side beat each other down, and through the red mist, he saw someone slip into the gates. Someone very young. The yokai he had been aspiring to find. He hissed angrily through his teeth and set out through the carnage to find her.

But just as he approached… she grinned and skipped over to him.

"Rikuo! Guess what?" she smiled even wider. "Daybreak has yet to come. Let's see if you can endure _this__past,_ _my_ past, long enough… and live!"

She dissipated into a dark gray mist and vanished into the body of a burly onmyougi, whose eyes immediately darkened and turned on Rikuo, with a low moan coming from his mouth.

Rikuo cut him down and thought on what the yokai had just told him. And it finally hit him.

_All__of__this,_he thought, anger increasing with every thought,_all__of__this__isn__'__t__real.__This__is__some__fucked__up__world__she__created.__This__isn__'__t__the__past__at__all!_

It was as if the moment he realized this, the battle simultaneously warped. Rather than fighting each other, the onmyougi and the fake Nura clan turned on him. Sheathing his katana, he drew his two favorite weapons—the short spirit blade that was beautiful crafted, and the other human blade he normally layered his fear on.

The gray mist that had been the yokai that had transported him here solidified into the form of the little girl.

"It's taken you much longer to break," she said boredly. "I wonder if this will do the trick."

Rikuo tensed and waited for the coming attack as the enormous crowd roared loudly and bore upon him, hardly even distinguishable anymore.

**And now I end the chapter. ****

**Right, well this chapter contain none of my random other little ficlets and one-shots, only because io want to put this out there, and for some strange reason, they all relly like story #8. I don't understand you people.**

**Right, so I was reading my all my stories over (yes, I am that conceited that I would sit down and read over 200 pages [ I write a lot—not only fanfiction] of my own writing just for the hell of it) and I noticed an inconsistencies. I'm surprised no one pointed it out to me.**

**1) yokai lady says daybreak, not dawn. Technically, those are the same things, right?**

**Anyway, I'm sorry for cutting this off like this, and I'm sorry for the shortness of it, and I also deeply apologize for how long this has taken me! I will accept my punishment. **

**YellowWoman is currently on the Brink of:**

**I'm very pissed. I just read a book called _Human.4_ (anyone read it here?) and I hate the author so much. When I was done, al I could think was _WTF?__And__I__blew__off__my__math__homework__for__this__piece__of__shit?_ Of course, it was very interesting, well written, and intriguing. Now reading Anna Dressed in Blood, and doing my Algebra homework simultaneously. Curse slope intercept and functions to the seventh ring of Hell, where it may rest for all eternity. How the hell can you call formulas geometry? **


	6. Chapter 6

**!**

**YellowWomanontheBrink is back with another chapter!**

**Anyway, before I start my normal rambling, I have to thank someone.**

**Thanks to Saperia, for being my regular reviewer! She's amazing, and I also enjoy her story, Falling Back. Check it out!**

**Anyways, I had this story halfway typed up, but the rare occasion that I had internet, I wanted to post up my next chapter before it got too long between updates. This one isn't RihanxLittleRikuo, but WakanaxLittleRikuo.**

**Because I was going through fanfiction, and I notice there are ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY, no stories with Rikuo's relationship with his mother! So, this chapter will mostly feature Little Rikuo and my other short (really long) story. Why? Because, up there with Day Rikuo, Rihan, and Wakana he's my favorite character to write about. ;) **

**Proceed, my wonderful readers!**

**#13**

**Title: At home**

**Features: Rikuo (age 3) and Wakana**

Rikuo shot up from bed, hair mussed. He flung his sheets off, running through the house, the unfortunately empty house. It was silent, all of the yokai out on patrol or just out of the house, to wherever they went to when they left. He slumped against the wall.

_How am I ever going to convince otou-san to let me go out with him if I can't even stay up?_

The young boy sighed and sunk lower. He had been pestering his father to let him out of the house at night, but Rihan had always gotten his serious look and said 'no' immediately. Not even the _face_ had worked yet.

As if he'd had to the chance to try it yet. Most of the time, before the really late night even began, he was out of it and placed in bed. This was the first time he had gotten up in the middle of the night though.

He got up and idly wandered through the large house, avoiding the dark empty places, especially the courtyard. Rikuo sighed and peered through a window in one of the rooms at the tiny sliver of moon. He stuck his head out the window and felt th cool breeze wash over his small face.

From the left, around the curvature of the house, he could hear slight scuffling sounds from the gardens.

He ran outside through a small panel he had discovered and crept to the edge of the lavish garden, creepy in the nearly non-existent light. There, he spotted someone he had never given a particular thought of at night… he assumed she simply went to bed like he did.

"Okaa-san?"

Wakana turned around from the tiny sprout she had been fingering.

"Oh! Rikuo, what are you still doing up?"

He figured she was going to send him back to bed.

"I couldn't sleep."

To his surprise, she smiled a little. She motioned to the ground she kneeled on.

"Come on! Sit with your mother."

He eagerly ran over, wanting to see what had his mother so captivated, and was more than a little disappointed to find a flower.

"Isn't this exciting?"

Rikuo nodded dully, and Wakana laughed. "It's okay. You know, I never really showed much interest in flowers before I met your father."

He perked his ears up. It was rare he ever had a chance to just sit down and have a talk with his mother—so many others required her attention.

"Why?" he asked quizzically.

She shrugged. "I knew they were beautiful, and I loved them for that. But Rihan adored beautiful things, and I met him, I gave him the ones I had picked, roots and all. I was going to plant them a box in my room. I lived in a small apartment, and they didn't have gardens like this one. I would love to bring the flowers from beautiful places to my box and watch them grow,and then they'd die."

Rikuo furrowed his brows in confusion. "Why'd you give them away then? Otou-san already had this garden."

Wakana cocked an eyebrow and grinned wider. "You should have seen his face just then. He looked like you do when you make your sad face."

"like this?" Rikuo turned his eyes down and hung his head down, frown spread wide.

"Yes! Exactly like that!"

Rikuo crawled over his mother to sit in her lap and buried his face in her breasts.

"What happened next?"

Wakana looked up, as if thinking. "Well, I don't know what he'll say if I tell you…"

"Tell me!" Rikuo was practically beaming. He rarely heard much of his parent's history before they married. The wish to go on patrol had almost entirely fled the three-year-old's mind as he laid his head on her chest and listened to her tell stories of her and Rihan and fabulous adventures. Slowly, but surely, the sun crept into the air, and Wakana sat at the base of the sakura tree, picking stray petals from the double-toned hair of her son.

"_Kaa-san?" Rikuo had asked her as sky turned a pale pink-blue. "Why weren't you asleep?"_

"_I've always stayed up all night. I don't want Rihan to come to a silent house, I'll wait for him every night as long as I live."_

_He yawned and repositioned himself._

"_I'll wait every night with you too, Kaa-san. I don't want you to be alone in the house, by yourself. It must be lonely."_

_He dozed off, brown eyes slowly drifting closed. _

That was the last thing Rikuo had told her as he fell asleep. Wakana had then migrated to Rihan's favorite tree, waiting patiently and fingering her only son's hair.

Quiet as the breeze, Wakana felt Rihan at her shoulder.

"Hi, Rihan," she said, not looking up.

The quiet was quickly broken as a mass of yokai arrived in the house, breaking the serenity that had lay across the house.

"Let's take him to bed, hmm?" Rihan questioned as he helped Wakana up, legs stiff from hours of sitting in the same position. They turned and headed into the house, another long day beginning for Wakana and a long rest for Rikuo.

Every night, until Rihan died and then some, Rikuo stayed up all night with his mother, listening to her stories or just sitting in silence with his mother.

Every night, she still stays up, and waits for her son.

**And that is that :P ISPIRATION! Must've been on something, because she was so nice to me, I've got about three more short stories. Hope you enjoyed the bit of RikuoxWakana. Wait, I'm going to write one more RxW. Here it is!**

**#14**

**Title: I'm going to come up with one later.**

**Features: Rikuo (age 6) and Wakana**

"Kejouro-san!"

Wakana's serious voice rang through the kitchen with commandeer.

"For today, I leave this house in your command. I cannot miss this day. It's practically the only thing that's gotten Rikuo's spirits up since…" she took a breath, "Rihan's death. I've prepared everything, so everyone, please act a little normal. I want to drop him off personally. It's not right to let a kindergartener* walk to school by himself. (**A/N: okay, I don't know the schooling levels in Japan, and I can't research because **_**hello?**_** No internet? Yeah. Just go along with it.)**

Everyone quieted down when Rikuo ran in the kitchen, lazily dragging his knapsack.

"Kaa-san," he whined, "it's so _early."_

"It's eight o'clock Rikuo, and school begins at eight thirty. You spend too much time with the youkai." She replied briskly. She watched him pull uncomfortably at his collar of his uniform, and she knelt and loosened it.

_Perhaps I shouldn't have dressed him in traditional clothes the entire time._

Even when he went out, Rikuo had always dressed traditionally.

"Kaa-san, are you _sure _I'm okay?"

Wakana looked over her son as he fidgeted and shuffled on his feet.

"You look perfect… except…." She stood straight and shouted down at her son playfully, "Stand up straight! Head up! There! Now you're absolutely handsome!"

Rikuo smiled nervously at his exuberant mother.

"Let us go! Tsurara-chan, please help Kejouro-san clean up. I'll be right back."

She held her hand out for her son to hold, and headed out the door with Rikuo in tow.

Wakana watched as her son slowly grew more confident and began running ahead of her, down the main street, towards where his school was. She could see other children dragging their parents and grandparents—or in some cases, being dragged, all in one convergence. She could see teenagers chatting and reconciliating with friends. She broke into a jog, hiking up her long kimono to catch up with the tiny double-toned head of hair, just barely visible in the crowds of children.

When she finally caught up with him and got a firm grasp on his hand, she found him already chatting up a shy girl mostly hiding behind her mother.

Wakana tiredly offered her hand to the smartly dressed woman.

"Nura Wakana."

"Ienaga Ageha"

The doors opened and Wakana watched as Rikuo practically leapt up, grabbing Ienaga's daughter, dragging her inside with shouts of "Bye, Kaa-san! Come on, Kana-chan!" and Kana's single shriek of "B-bye okaa-san!"

Wakana smiled widely as the two disappeared into the rush of small bodies.

_Just like Rihan said…he's so excited. And charismatic…_

**And that is also that! That just flitted through my head, and I decided to write it. Did I menton I adore writing about Little Rikuo? Because the next story is about him too ;) And just a note, I actually have no idea what Kana's mother's name is. I just read a chapter of _Papillion: Hana to Chou _ and I decided to call her Ageha.**

**#15**

**Title: Yeah, same message as before. I'm not good with titles. =(**

**Features: Rikuo (aged when Rihan brought Gitsune, not sure if that's 3 or 4), and Hagoromo Gitsune/Kitsune/ Yamabuki Otome I have absolutely not frickin' idea what that lady's name is! She will be referred to as Kitsune here, and if I'm wrong, please correct! **

It started out as another day for Rikuo when a large commotion started inside the room where Rihan held his meetings with the clan heads. Rikuo had decided not to attend.

"This is outrageous!"

"You cannot expect us to shelter her here!"

Rikuo ran inside and leaned close to the door to eavesdrop.

"Think about this rationally, Rihan."

"She almost killed your mother! And your father!"

He squinted through a small gap in the screen, and saw several outraged people on their feet, shouting at his father, who sat perfectly composed, as usual.

"I'm certain about it, and my decision is final."

Even his grandfather looked uneasy, and –was that a tinge of anger.

"You better know what you're doing, Rihan, or else this will come back and stab youi the back."

"Listen," Rihan said, with his hands up, "Let's not discuss this in front of her. "

Loud grumbling throughout the group of old yokai, and they dismissed for a moment. Rikuo started when he felt a hand on his shoulder, and looked up to see his mother, who signaled _shh…_

He stepped back as she walked confidently in with a smile and tea. And she walked out with Rihan, who was trying to coax something out from behind him. When his efforts proved futile, he sighed.

"Rikuo, come on, there's someone I want you to meet."

Rikuo ran into the nearest empty room, waiting for father to come after him.

"Come on, Kitsune-chan," Rihan mumbled calmingly.

And much to Rikuo's surprise, a girl stepped out from behind him.

"Oh wow!" he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her out from behind his father. "You're pretty!" He smiled at her, and she gave a small smile back.

"Rikuo, this is Kitsune-san, Kitsune-san, my son, Rikuo."

She waved tentatively.

"Hi!"

Rikuo was so excited. Even though she was obviously a yokai, she was someone approximately his own age, if a little older. Even if she was quiet, she listened, if there was any evidence in the tears shining in her dark eyes, though none ran down her face.

He pulled her close. "Don't mind those guys," he whispered. "some of them are really mean, and they don't like me either."

Rihan smiled at his whispering son and left the room, prepping himself to deal with the certain angry retaliation of some.

.

. Three months later

.

"So," Rikuo said to Kitsune, "I will show you how to get out of trouble, if you do get in any."

Kitsune nodded silently.

"First thing, and the hardest thing to do, is pull off the _face_. You're really quiet, so look really meek and timid and timid and like you're gonna die and stuff."

Rikuo looked over Kitsune as she rocked back and forth on her feet, looking on and twiddling her thumbs, and whispered a perfectly soft, _please?_

"That's awesome! Okay, let's find Kurotabou and try it out. And then we'll try and get Kubinashi-san to see if he'll let you come to the market with us this time."

Rikuo peered around the corner of the hallway where Kitsune was Kurotabou for a shovel: the one thing Rikuo and Kitsune were officially forbidden from having after Rikuo had helped her get back at the Clan leaders. He noticed how all the yokai of the house were uncomfortable around her—as if they expected her to grow 30 heads or something. Whenever Rikuo questioned them about it, they'd say nothing and resume what they were doing as if he had not questioned them at all. Kitsune herself had no idea of the reason for the Nura Clan's hostility towards her.

Rikuo shook off his thoughts when he saw Kitsune run towards him, grin wide on her face.

"I got it! Do you think that Kubinashi would let me go with you?"

"Definitely."

They ran out into the garden with Rikuo leading and Kitsune following. Kurotabou watched the pair disappearint the back of the bushes where Rikuo often his when he didn't want to be found, i.e., when he was thinking up devious plots that would end up in absolute embarrassment for him.

He slunk back into the house, robes billowing behind him, praying that he wasn't on the receiving end.

A few hours later, absolutely confident, Rikuo and Kitsune snuck up behind Kubinashi, who held a big basket of clean folded clothes.

"Kubinashi-san," Rikuo began, "Can Kitsune-chan come with us to the market tomorrow?"

"We've been over this before. You already know my answer."

Rikuo noticed how hard Kubinashi was focusing on not looking at Rikuo. He did a subtle motion with his hands and Kitsune ran in front of the neckless yokai.

"Please? I'll be good."

Kubinashi broke.

"Fine…"

*At the market*

"Come on Kitsune-chan! This stall is cool!"

"Wait Rikuo-kun! I can't go that fast!"

Rikuo raced through the crowd, gripping the young yokai's hand, showing her the spun glass creations and making stupid faces through the glass, warping the image. She giggled, and he soon dragged her with hi to other stalls, and she followed with more and more exuberance, until they stopped at a flower stall.

"Brought a friend, huh?" the stall lady's young assistant said grin. "You gonna marry her?" she asked and made kissy faces at the two.

"Ew! Kitsune-chan here is like my sister!"

The stall assistant smiled and gave each of them a single bloom.

"Bye!" Rikuo called as he and Kitsune ran off to different stalls, Kubinashi shouting for them in the distance.

Rikuo ended the trip by bringing her to one of his favorite places—the candy shop.

"They have a ton of stuff here," he explained as they entered. "These are my favorite."

Kitsune wandered the small store.

"Rikuo-kun, what are these?" she said, motioning towards a row of brightly wrapped round things.

"I don't know, I actually never tried them." he peered around, then quickly unwrapped one and stuck it in his mouth, spitting it out immediately.

"These are disgusting."

The two separated, sneaking tastes of random snacks, until Kubinashi found them.

After convincing him to splurge on a bunch of sweets, they headed home in the afternoon sunlight, Kitsune grinning and trading candy with Rikuo, who was smiling brightly.

Kubinashi couldn't stop himself from smiling. Despite the fact the young yokai rarely spoke, nonetheless laughed, it was a nice sight to see. Rikuo rarely laughed as much as he did now, unless Rihan was playing with him.

*At home*

"Tou-san! Taste this one!"

Rihan popped the little jelly bean in his mouth, if only to appease his eager son, and screwed up his face at the sourness. Kitsune and Rikuo burst out laughing.

"Kitsune-chan made the same face!"

"So did you!"

"Yeah, but you were the one that said that he wouldn't!"

Rihan cocked and eyebrow as the two argued.

"Yeah, well I said that okaa-san wouldn't make that face, and she didn't!"

Rihan had to calm the two down, as they continued shouting.

"here, Tou-san, you can have the rest of these!"

Rikuo chasesd the giggling Kitsune out into the garden, where they disappeared into the bushes..

Rikuo had finally calmed down enough to ask Kitsune a question that had occurred to him randomly before theey'd left for the market.

"Hey, Kitsune-chan, where'd you come from?"

She sobered up as well and looked down to the ground.

"I don't know. But sometimes...It's like there's something there I've forgotten, and then there's another voice..."

Rikuo looked seriously at his friend.

"That's weird."

"Yeah..."

**Guess what? That's the end of that story! And guess what else? This is the 50th page! Cookies for everyone who stuck with this story this far! :DDDDDDD New readers gets marshmallows!**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**And this is the 51st! I'll stop now. :**

**#16**

**Title: Who's sleeping in my bed?**

**Features: You guessed it—Rihan and little Rikuo!**

**A/N: You know we've all done this ;)**

Rikuo cautiously crept through the house—which was eerily silent as a black sky overhead illuminated nothing.

He tripped over his feet and landed hard on his chin in the darkness. He bit back a wail and took off running, sliding open the door to his parent's room.

The lack of the familiar shadows in his room as he lay awake freaked him out, and the harsh cold wind pounding on the window did nothing to ease him. Cold had crept up through his warm blankets and mat and made him shiver with—he was ashamed to admit it—fear.

"Otou-san? Okaa-san?" he whispered into the even darker darkness.

Nothing in reply but soft even breathing, and a slight movement as one of the two rearranged themselves.

"Mmmmm..." Rikuo muttered nervously as the chill of the wood floors sank itself comfortably between his toes, making them feel liken small blocks of ice.

Sighing, he let himself into the room and crawled silently inbetween his mother and father, listening to them mutter sleepily as they got comfortable around him.

"Rikuo... what are you doing here?" Rihan murmured groggily as he pulled his son and wife closer so neither fell of the mat.

"It was cold..."

"Well, you just make your self comfortable," Rihan said, quickly falling back to sleep.

Rikuo closed his eyes as he let his parents warmth sink into him, his mothers bosom pressed gently on his back, his face buried in Rihan's chest as sleep overcame him.

**Yeah, I know, short, but this was inspired by something my little brother did. He came into my room all quiet and was like, "(Insert name here) it's cold in my room." And it was dark...**

**And I'm now going to conclude my other 'short' story', so I could get over it.**

**#17**

**Title: Conclusion of short story #7, which cont. to 8, which cont. to 12, which is finished in 17**

**Features: Just look back will you? You can'tve possibly forgotten.**

**A/N: Very short. Just goes to show you how much of a rush I was in when I uploaded the previous chapters. I forgot to copy paste this, and I didn't realize until I had already uploaded the document…**

At first he hesitated.

Every strike he made was slowed to something that wouldn't hurt anything as he swung his sword at familiar faces and people that he was greeted by at least once every normal day. Every time he raised his sword and summoned his fear, it quickly fell away as a rugged man with his eyes rolling up in his head, clearly not in control of himself, he simply dodged whatever came flying at him.

_I need to stop this…this isn't real…,_ he thought shaking sweaty hair out of his face.

He still couldn't bring himself to attack, that is, until he felt a flash of pain spread widely across his back and something warm and wet soak his clothes.

Rikuo turned, face contorted with anger, only to see nothing behind him and a sliver of fear creep on him.

He cursed out loud as he leapt back, head over heels as a shady figure appeared before him, just barely missing. Rikuo activated his own fear and vanished, watching the others below him confusion as their target vanished from their sight. They began to crowd around on the last spot he had been, shikigami inspecting the air and zoning in on him. Hje quickly cut them down and watched them disintegrate as he landed lightly on his feet outside of the crowd, slashing open one person's back as a thought occurred in his head.

_If this isn't real, this must be her fear…_

He watched as the figure dissolved in black tendrils of power, only to reform as a monster that turned on him as Rikuo faded into sight.

By then it was too late.

He tore through the crowd of people, trying to see his way through the black mist they dissapitated into once they were struck. He kept his head down, making sure not to look at faces, even though he knew they weren't real. He began to tire as he felt the strength leave him… he couldn't use his powers in the day continuously for long…

_It's like they keep coming back…_

He vanished and slipped out from the middle of the convergence to observe, and true to his thought, the mist was reforming quicker than they had been cut. It seemed that the 'mindless fighting' way wasn't going to work He looked around and to the left, he noticed the girl you who had caused all of this was sitting boredly to the side.

_Perhaps…_ he thought

_Perhaps if I cut her down, they'll all vanish, and I'll go back._

He changed his course of action and crept quickly on her, only to find a bright blade pressed against his own. He instantly recognized it.

"Nenekirimaru," he breathed out.

If he hadn't been fast enough, he'd have no head at the moment was the second thing he realized.

Nurarihyon came into existence before his eyes, faces pressed close as they pushed swords against each other, wide brown eyes narrowed at smaller gold ones.

They pushed apart from each other, and the mute Nurarihyon went to stand by his creator, who giggled girlishly.

"Wow," she said, impressed, "I didn't think you were bright enough to realize what would happen. I thought you would fight until you were insane." she smiled. "Just like all the others."

Rikuo narrowed his eyes.

"If I defeat you, I'll return?"

She touched her lip thoughtfully.

"Perhaps…"

Rikuo raised his sword defiantly.

"So be it."

He rushed at the girl, only to feel his blades stopped by the familiar feel of another pushing against him, overpowering him and sending him slamming hard into the dusty ground. Nurarihyon moved like a zombie, though quick and powerful, it was as if the movements were unused for long periods of time. The pattern was stiff and predictable, and Rikuo discovered he could easily avoid the strikes.

Almost without noticing it, he had pressed himself up against the house wall and could feel himself slipping slowly downward as his human self was easily overpowered and thrown to the side.

He cursed as he prodded his bodies for injuries as small pieces of wood and brick rained down upon him. Rikuo cocked his eyes to the left and saw the girl yokai staring curiously at the whole spectacle like it was amusing as he rolled to the side to avoid being sliced in half. He swung upward rather ungracefully, praying he would make a hit and was pleased to find the black smoke disperse as he made contact. Apparently this yokai didn't have entire control over the fear; only the bare minimum, and he took this in stride as he forced his slightly injured self up and ran towards where the girl was, clutching her neck tightly in his grasp.

Breathing hard, he looked his captive up and down, whereas she just stared limply.

"If I were to kill you now…" he murmured to himself.

She merely shrugged. "I don't know. You're the first to defeat my fear. Most die here first, wherever it is they are taken… and always at daybreak, when my fear is broken."

He snarled at her, and raised his sword…

And in the distance, saw the sky turn pink as the sun set in the false past he had been taken to, and grew overwhelmingly dizzy.

When his mind stopped its spinning and he collapsed to his knees in his Night form, he could see the sun set, turning the pavement red as the night awoke. Just out of the corner of his eye he could see the limp form of the yokai that had imprisoned him in her fear. He walked over to her and looked down.

"Leave," he said, and watched as the yokai girl glared and vanished into a red mist that disappeared into the red sky.

**Yeah, yeah anticlimactic, I don't care. I suck at endings.**

**Blah. It's winter break ad I'm trapped in the house. I fear for myself.**

**Anyway, this is a long as hell chapter…**

**But I've done longer :) **

**I have to thank all the people who favorited this and put this story on alerts reviewed! Love you all!**

**Anyways, the next chapter will be that last in this installment of short stories. That doesn't mean I'll stop writing fanfiction for Nurarihyon no mago, it just means that this fanfic is getting too long and no one's going to sit through 80 chapters of my writing and long ass author rambling. So I'll be back, especially as soon as the scanlators for the manga fucking UPDATE! (Not that I'm pressuring them or anything—the scanlators that do it now do it very nicely and cleanly.)**

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!**

**None of my favorite manga is being updated and I could cry!**

**Lucky for me, INSPRIRATION! Loves Christmas time and is therefore being generous with her ideas.**

**Because in addition to this, I just wrote 10 pages for my collection of original stories, this particular fanfic and started writing another one!**

**And I found a new obsession! Anyone here like D. Gray-man? **

**Things I have abandoned:**

**1) I tried writing a book fanfiction. I failed. Book fanfictions aren't really my thing.**

**2)I have officially given up hope for this book called Divergent. Something about it just puts me to sleep.**

**3) I have officially given up trying to warm my room. It's cold as hell here and I'm freezing my ass off writing this—the window is broken and 30 degree north winds are creeping into here.**

**That's all for now, enjoy the long ass chapter, and I'm sorry for constantly interrupting the stories with my mindless chatter. I have a problem.**

**Oh! And guess what? Just wondering what you people would like me to write (I'm very conscious of my audience) So don't feel shy to suggest stuff! ;)**

**YellowWomanontheBrink, out for tonight!**

**(Thanks for sitting through here if you actually read all this shit I just wrote :D)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello.**

**I'm so sorry, I haven't been updating, I'll get started right away. This is the last chapter I'm going to do in this saga of fanfic, when I get inspired after this expect more of my (not) short stories! I promise. I just don't want this to be super long. Let us begin, eh?**

**#19**

**Title: Several bits of scenes that have been scattered throughout my head as I wrote this, but I couldn't organize them into a story.**

**Features: A lot of people….just read.**

**(A/N: Don't be surprised if this doesn't make much sense, It's just a bunch of little scenes I've had in my head since I started reading Nurarihyon no Mago last July. Enjoy!)**

Rikuo bounced on the balls of his feet as he stood up in the chairs in the back of the bus he rode, his backpack haphazardly thrown where he was supposed to be sitting. His head could barely reach the top of the chairs and therefore he was stuck looking at the plastic-like leather of the seat before him, energetically pushignt he top of it.

"Shut up, will ya?" the irritated older child sitting in front barked behind at Rikuo's animated chatter to his (only ) friend, who was timidly sitting, buckled properly into the chair beside him. Rikuo merely stuck his tongue out and continued the one-sided conversation with his friend.

"Hey, Rikuo?" she finally addressed him.

"Yes?"

"We're here! You almost made us miss our stop!" Kana giggled as he pulled off and ran down the aisle and out the door just before the driver closed it. He walked, slow and relaxed, though his face betrayed his excitement.

"Why are you so excited today, anyway ?" she asked questioningly.

She was quite used to Rikuo's bubbly self, though it was only on certain days he was ever this animated. He grinned, wide and coy.

"My grandfather's going to have some visitor's today! And Zen-san's going visit!"

Kana smiled, thinking back to all the strange and wild stories Rikuo never failed to make her smile about the supposed 'yokai' that lived in his house.

Though she would never admit it, it kind of frightened her; his unfalliable and adamant belief that they were real.

"That's nice Rikuo. My mom's just going to make me help her make dinner again."

Rikuo stopped and turned at Kana's house. His house was still several blocks away, and he waved goodbye to his reluctant friend, who watched his retreating form as the sun went down over their quaint neighborhood.

"Bye!" she called.

He waved his arm at her voice as he disappeared up the hill.

And Kana worried for her friend, who she knew was very alone in the big house of his.

**(A/N: Alright, that was one of them. But I just couldn't think up a story to go with that scene! Here's another one.)**

Youhime was in her room, late at night, waiting on her husband's return. Though she had never admitted it, and probably never would, she felt alone….

It was only to be expected. She loved her husband with all her heart, oh yes she did, but she couldn't help but feel just a little bit…inferior.

She knew her husband loved her, and would never leave her, but really, what was a lonely woman to do when her love was surrounded by more powerful yokai women? Women that could hold their hold in a fight, and stand proudly beside him?

_Nothing, _she silently decided, rocking her fussy baby in the night, where the moon's shine fell in through the thin curtains, and a light summer's breeze ruffled them in the silent empty halls.

She would be the clan's one stable person, and even if she couldn't go around gallivanting with her love, she had someone else to watch at the point.

_Even if he does end up with another woman…._

She pushed the thought out of her head. Nurarihyon was faithful. She knew it. She had bore his her son for him out of her certain assurity, even if she was young…

_No….my son, too._

Youhime picked up the cooing hanyou from the place where he had been lying with her.

"Isn't that right little Rihan?"

**(A/N: Right…..so that's scene two! What else… )**

_That's it…I'm gonna kill the little brat._

Even for a well, matured, fully hanyou, Rihan was by far the most immature one she'd met in addition.

"…calling me old….poking fun at my cooing skills—which is perfectly fine, isn't it Miss Tsurara?"

She gazed down at her little baby and grinned, sadness poking at her, which she shook off.

She didn't need to think about what was going to happen. She was going to enjoy herself, and enjoy the time she had left now.

"Oh, Tsurara, I can't believe I'm actually going to leave you with that idiot…"

She smiled wider when the baby yokai grasped her petite fingertips.

"Wel! Let's go! Rihan-sama's not going to come get me, and I'm hungry, aren't you?"

Setsura continued her one-sided conversation all the way to the kitchen.

**(A/N: ….? Continuing…)**

"All right, that's that! All men shall remove themselves from the vicinity of this house, starting now!"

Kejouro stood bossily at the gates, ushering out most of the main house of the Nura clan.

"We ladies are going to have the house to ourselves tonight! Ain't that right Wakana-chan!"

Freshly married and merely a young woman, Wakana nodded feverently and waved at the protesting men.

"Bye, Rihan-san! See you tomorrow!"

Giggling as the men closed the gates, Kejouro excitedly dragged the young woman inside the house, and so the 'ladies night' began.

Wakana had had no idea that there were so little women living inside the main house, in fact, the only people ones that were permanent residents of the Nura clan main branch were, her, Kejouro, a couple other and a young yokai named Tsuara. Most were rather reserved, but that all vanished once Wakana brought the alcohol out.

Within an hour, the women were all thoroughly smashed, Wakana introduced a formerly unknown skill.

"*hiccup* Hey Kejouro, can I see your hair?"

The yokai giggled and leaned forward, letting, waves of thick dark hair fall on Wakana's lap.

"*gasp* This is so pretty! I had a roommate with like, this-" she motioned exagerratedly with her arms, "long hair and she showed me how to braid it!" The woman pouted. "My hair's too short. It hasn't grown back in forever! And I cut it when I was thirteen."

"Really?" the only sober one at that point, Tsurara looked incredulously at Wakana.

"Mmmm-hmmmm! It never grows. That's why, when I first saw Rihan I thought he was a girl!"

The group of women broke down into fits of laughter, imagining he undoubtly masculine Rihan in women's clothing, cleaning.

"Ooohh, Kerjouro! Do you know what I'm gonna do?"

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm gonna braid you hair!"

Downing another glass of rum—they had thoroughly expended their store of sake—Wakana tackled the pretty yokai and started braiding her hair.

When all the men returned in the morning, they were surprised to find their ladies passed out in Wakana's room, hair done up in complicated and fancy Chinese-style braids.

And then they noticed they were also half dressed…especially up top.

By afternoon they were being yelled at by a cranky Kejouro and an even crankier Wakana to scrub their blood off the floorboards, all while the women were trying to cover themselves up.

**(A/N: What possesses me to write this crap? Any, that's that for a few of the scenes I have no idea what to do with, though they wouldn't leave me alone…the rest, I have an inkling of an idea…. Here's the conclusion to #18! I was intrigued! This is the result of **_**thinking**_** too much!)**

**#20 (Final story)**

**Title: More of #18**

**Features: Night Rikuo, Tsurara**

Tsuarara had been merely relaxing, when much to her surprise, she saw Night Rikuo roaming the hallways in an aimless sort of fashion. During the day.

During the day?

She rushed forward and peppily greeted him.

"Good morning Rikuo-sama! Are you hungry? You haven't eaten much at all, and the rest of the household is starting to get worried, or at least," her face dusted pale pink, "I was getting a little worried. Anyway," Tsurara chattered on and on, filling the comfortable silence that soon filled with morning noises as the yokai arose to lazily get some breakfast and relax.

Just before Tsurara could turn into the hallway where he assumed they were going to split, he grabbed her arms roughly and dragged her out the door into the garden. She squealed as they were pushed into the plentiful and lovely flower bushes that bordered the open space.

"Wha-" she began, but he quickly silenced her and leaned in close.

"Tell me," he breathed," Is my Day form this weak that he has to be doted on by his subordinates? In that case I really do wonder if I should just stay in control. He practically handed it over to me…"

Tsurara whimpered slightly and requested, though muffled, "Can you please release me Rikuo-sama?"

He scowled and let go of the yuuki-onna.

"Rikuo-sama, why do you speak so badly of…yourself?" she asked tentatively. She never had truly understood her masters double—and as she now realized—conflicting personalities. She had always just fooled herself into believing they were the same person. Things were just easier that way. She had always just told herself don't think about it.

Night Rikuo scoffed. "That weak bastard isn't me, and he could never hope to be me. I would say I'm almost ashamed on having to share a body, nonetheless a name and title with the little shit."

Night Rikuo seemed almost sinister.

Tsurara pushed herself off his chest.

The double-haired yokai an a hand through his hair and flashed her a crimson gaze.

"Tell me, and tell me honestly, do you really respect him? Like a true sandaime or a friend—no a _toy_."

Tsurara said nothing when she realized she really couldn't disagree. Though she somewa enjoyed her boss in his Day form, there was something about his Night form that was ust so…alluring. The perfect yokai.

"Answer me!" His grip was back around her wrists, and she knew she had to say something then. She had presumed in letting her silence answer for her.

"I don't either, Rikuo-sama, Rikuo-sama. I-I don't know. You're just so confusing. I was the first to swear sakazuki with you, the very first. But now your asking me to choose…but I love both my masters. It is Rikuo-sama who can't decide."

She turned a pale, dusty pink and proceeded to kneel, slightly afraid.

Breathing hard, Night Rikuo sank to his knees and leaned his head against the wall.

"He won't talk to me, Tsurara."

Tsurara lifted her head and smiled at Night Rikuo sadly. She really didn't know what to say, what exactly it was that Night Rikuo wanted from her. But she would try her best, and the only thing she had was telling the truth.

"You know, no one in the clan coddles you," she began, but was interrupted.

"Oi, I told you, I'm not him. He made that clear enough. Damn human can't mind his own business."

There was an awkward silence before Tsurara requested she continue, and he waved her assent. "You don't have to ask," was all he said.

"Anyway, no one in the main house coddles you. It's just that, you always look so sad. And you are our Sandaime, we're supposed to take care of you."

"It's supposed to be the opposite way," he argued back. "I'm supposed to be strong enough to protect my clan and everyone under it from harm. And he," he paused a cool anger settling on his features, "he's too weak. He'll get everyone I care about killed with this type of softness."

Tsurara was actually a bit stunned, to find out that anyone could be so ridiculously, stupendously, clueless about himself. She bit her lip and thought about a way to go through this softly.

"Rikuo-sama," she asked, "have you ever talked to your aibou?"

He snorted, as if the question was incredulous, though he was slightly uncertain about it. In fact, other than bending his human part to his will and ordering him to stay away, Night Rikuo had never really talked to Day Rikuo. This morning had been their first conversation, and it had been an argument.

"Yeah, course I have," he said airily.

Tsurara gave a memorable admonishing look, the one that simply screamed, 'Fess up, missy.'

He sighed.

"No, I haven't. You happy?" Night Rikuo asked, sarcasm dripping from his every pore.

Tsurara merely smiled and left the room, rushing out the door the way she had been dragged.

Night Rikuo let out a deep, unsatisfied breath. Whatever he had hoped to accomplish had been left with no result, and now he was even more, depressed wasn't quite right. The fact was, he had no idea what to do with himself. The mansion was actually pretty peaceful, and he had no idea what yokai did during the daytime, when their power was reduced.

"What the hell am I going to do?" he moaned out loud, covering his face and resisting the urge to hit something. With a deciding breath, he deftly entered his inner world.

What had been his, and solely his alone now was more varied, brighter, yet ominously dark at the same time. It was sprinkled with small bushes and stunted trees bursting with flowers, all holding that strange, heavy aura around them. Frankly, it was starting to creep the yokai out, and irritate him.

"Oi! What the hell did you do to place!" he shouted as Day Rikuo stood up from his kneeling position, completely and absolutely ignoring the taller, more frightening, imposing figure looming angrily above.

Day  
>Rikuo still looked like absolute crap; perhaps a minimum of 24 more hours rest and he might've been able to get rid of half of the shadows beneath his eyes.<p>

"I guess I just lost my internal bet," he said to himself with a cynical grin, so different from his normal 'don't worry about it' face, "You've already come running back for help."  
>Night Rikuo grit his teeth and grabbed his other self's arms tightly, pinning them to his sides. Day Rikuo, much to the yokai's aggravation, looked slightly bored, his wide chocolate brown eyes alight with maliciousness, a rare expression few yokai ever got to see.<p>

"Yokai's power is based on fear, and whether they can overpower their opponent by causing them to fear. But me, I don't see anything to be afraid of at all."

"Shut up!" Night Rikuo roared, tossing the smaller body aside. The human fell in a heap and wiped his now bloodied nose.

Night Rikuo stalked forward and prepared to draw the sword strapped at his side. He would kill him, he would kill the midget parasite in this proud yokai body…

Night Rikuo kicked his Day Form over onto his stomach and prepared the sword, ready to stab him when…

"Wouldn't you be the parasite?" Day Rikuo inquire, staring straight ahead. "I mean, I was here first. I didn't always have a demon lurking around in my head, abusing my body and calling me weak and unworthy at least once a day." His enormous brown eyes looked everywhere but at the yokai with the sword. "I guess you can finish whatever you've started. I've got nothing worth here to lose, and you've got everything here to gain." A sardonic smile twitched at Day Rikuo's lips. "I had no idea you were suicial, though. Well," he motioned vaguely, "finish me off."

Night Rikuo's crimson eyes focused on his Day form before he raised his sword…

And stopped.

The young yokai leaned forward and touched all the aspects of himself; his face, round and pleasant, his hair, short brown, and black, felt the dark, bruised skin underneath his large brown eyes.

How on Earth was this weak little human supposed to be him?  
>_<p>

Go to the next chap...


	8. Expression of My Gratitude

**And that's all folks! Thanks to everyone who stuck around from beginning to end, and thanks to everyone who put up with my ass typing skills. -_-**

**Do tell me if I've improved! I surely do hope so. *_***

**I have to say, this is my favorite fanfiction to write, as it was my first one that I started sometime back in April… though lately I've been rather obsessed with AU's. might have one for Bleach, even though everyone knows my Bleach fics sucks such bad ass the writing throws up everytime I put my fingers on the keyboard! Yay! And I thought I had hit an all time low before!**

**Luckily it wasn't really a fic so much as a disorganized collection of random crap. Like this. **

**But I have to say, It was so much fun writing this! My favs are the ones with ChibiRikuo and #18 and #20.**

**I'm sorry it took so long to update this. But I have no internet, they blocked fanfiction from school, and I have to watch five little siblings because my older sis has stuff after school. **

**Oh! I have one last request from you, my amazingly awesome readers. Please give me a title for this anthology of shorts and scenes. I'm so bad with titles, it took me three years to come up with a name for the Realm of Oblivion. **

**Tell me if you liked it! I know I did, and if you flame me, suck ass! .*P**

**Just kidding. I know you lot are a nice bunch.**

**I have to thank a few people.**

**First of all, thanks to the 600-700 something people that read this. I saw the #of reads and I'm like, 'whoa, back up' *arranges glasses* 'GOOD GOD, THAT SAYS SIX HUNDRED!'**

**And then my older sister threw her pillow at my head with her manly muscular arms and told me shut up. :D**

**Next, I have to thanks reviewers, who took the time to give me feedback.**

**To Saperia: To you, for being my (almost) regular reviewer, you get a cyber five and a hug. And my absolute thanks, seeing as your fics are pretty cool too! I'd give you something better, but…I'm broke! :C There's not even any eggs in my house, so I can't give you a cookie…damn I want one right, rather than my science homework…**

**Anyway…**

**To HikariNoTenshi-San: Thank you for reading this! **

**To Skilvh and Shilvh: To you, for reading my other crap as well, I give you the ultimate fangirl thank you, as I have nothing else to give you.**

**THANK YOU! THANK YOU! And last but not least THANKS SO MUCH!**

**Thanks to that random reviewer out there! You know who you are, even if I don't!**

**To Anyone who ever read this fic later on in their lives: Thanks for reading a completed fic! I know once they stop being updated it's like they dropped off the face of the Earth, so thanks for stopping by and reading it. I really appreciate it, if anyone is gonna read it that is… o_O**

**Now for the people that Fav'd and Alerted, **

**Favs:**

**Amy0213**

**Fallendestinyxx**

**Skilvh and Shilv**

**Sullywullybunny**

**unluckyXIII**

**Alerts:**

**Betula**

**HikariNoTenshi-San**

**Saperia :D**

**And of course, Skilvh and Shilv**

**And now for anyone who might come along later, THANKS!**

**Whew. Done with that.**

**Stuff I am now Working on:**

**Nurarihyon no Mago: Probably another short story collection, or perhaps a RihanxWakana multi-chapter…**

**I've got an AU fic for Bleach, Alex Rider.**

**I'm doing this fucked up Generator Rex/Teen Titans crossover.**

**And I've got like a bajillion pages of a sequel of "Don't Ask why I was Inspired" that I started typing literally three minutes after I posted the last chapter. But I never posted it. Why? Because I'm afraid it's ass and people will flame me. I actually like it a lot. Don't Ask was the second most fun thing to write.**

**I've got a collaboration with Sexy Turtle where we do a Hetalia Truth or Dare. The name of the account is SexyTurtleontheBrink. :) (3/12/12: A/N;We haven't posted anything yet.)**

**I've got a Hetalia Hundreds Theme Challenge.**

**Of course, the only thing actually published on is the hundreds themes. I don't post anything up til I've got at least four chapters done.**

**Hmm…**

**Think that's it.**

**Yep that's it.**

**See ya! Please don't forget the title, I really, really, really need one.**

**YellowWomanontheBrink, out for this fic! **

**Luvyubunches :DDD**


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